History of S.T.E.M

History of the S-S.T.E.M. development –

November 17^th, 1944 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, asking how the successful application of scientific knowledge to wartime problems could be carried over into peacetime. (Read The Letter)

1947 - Congress passes a bill establishing a National Science Foundation, but President Harry S. Truman vetoes it because it did not give the president authority to name the director of the agency.

On May 10^th, 1950, more than three years after President Harry S. Truman vetoed a bill [for not giving the President the authority to name its Director] passed by Congress, Public Law 81-507 was established, creating the National Science Foundation. The Foundation consisted of 24 constituents and a Director acting as Chief Executive Officer. On December 12th, 1951 the first board meeting was held; see Pictures of the Committee Here.

More than 17 years later, in October of 1967, he College Science Improvement Program is established to assist predominantly undergraduate institutions to upgrade their science teaching.

Public Law [99-372] passes on August 10^th, 1972, giving the NSF explicit responsibility over “the effects of scientific application upon society”.

The first Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching (PAESMT) are presented in a White House Ceremony on October 19^th, 1983.

AAMP [the Alliances for Minority Participation program] is formed on October 1^st, 1990, in an effort to bring together academia, government and the private sector to increase the number of minority scientists and engineers.

To read more about the history, and to fill in the gaps of the timeline, please visit http://www.nsf.gov/about/history/timeline00s.jsp#2000s .