Bob Cochnar, Editor

Editor's Note

Editor's Note

June / July 2010 By: Bob Cochnar Volume 8 Number 3

Print this Article

E-mail this Article

The Remarkable Mr. Augustine

Congress is currently (and fitfully) addressing the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, which was passed in 2007 by a huge bipartisan margin. It didn’t provide any funds, however, which meant nothing happened.  Funds are tighter this time around (who knew?), but the basis for the law—the landmark report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm—is more relevant now than when it was written five years ago.
The report, by the way, was commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences, which was asked by Senators Lamar Alexander and Jeff Bingaman to figure out what actions federal policymakers could take “to enhance the science and technology enterprise so that the United States can successfully compete, prosper and be secure in the global community of the 21st century.” The National Academies gathered together an august group of leaders (including Steven Chu, now secretary of energy, and Robert Gates, now secretary of defense) to develop the report.
Chairman was Norman Augustine who, if you look over to the immediate right, you’ll see that he’s a contributor to Innovation and in that role offers some thoughts on America COMPETES beginning on Page 9. Truth be told, Norm was—and is—a major mover and shaker well before he signed on as a contributor. His track record is both distinguished and breathtaking.
A Phi Beta Kappa Princeton graduate, he worked as research engineer, program manager and chief engineer at Douglas Aircraft, followed by a stint in the Defense Department as assistant director of defense research and engineering. He later joined LTV as a vice president, returned to government as assistant secretary, under secretary and acting secretary of the Army before returning to private industry at Martin Marietta Corp. as vice president. In 1987 he was elected CEO of Martin Marietta  and later served as president, chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, which was formed by merger in 1995. Norm “retired” in 1997 and joined the Princeton faculty for several years.

Among other pursuits: chairman of the advisory committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program (1990), chairman of the American Red Cross, president and chairman of the Association of the U.S. Army, chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, chairman of the National Academy of Engineering and president of the Boy Scouts of America  His most recent public service stint was as chairman of the Review of the U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee.  For good reason, many of the committees he chaired, including Gathering Storm, became known  as the “Augustine Committees.”
In 1983, Norm published a book called Augustine’s Laws. One of them bears repeating:
“The more time you spending talking about what you have been doing, the less time you have to do what you have been talking about.Eventually, you spend more and more time talking about less and less until finally you spending all your time talking about nothing.”
Also weighing in on America COMPETES is Tom Udall, the junior senator from New Mexico and Jeff Bingaman’s colleague. The reauthorization act will be passing through the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, of which Tom is a member.
Also in this issue is an illuminating interview with Patrick Gallagher, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and an article on the future of computing by John Kelly III, director of IBM Research.