President James R. Killian

(1975) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

"To honor a lifetime of public service in science and engineering. In association with Lord Briggs Of Lewes Oxford University, England. To commission a study of the social implications of radio in the development of the science and art of broadcasting."

Presented by: The Honorable Nelson A. Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States of America, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Killian served as the tenth President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1949 and 1959. Under his presidency, the School of Humanities and Social Studies, the Sloan School of Management, the Lincoln Laboratory and the Center for International Studies were added to MIT. President Killian encouraged MIT's movement into the field of digital computers and information-processing, and was widely known for his strong defense of academic freedom. Dr. Killian also served as the first presidential science advisor, during a leave from MIT between November 1957 and July 1959. The photo above shows Dr. Killian being sworn in as presidential science advisor in 1957.

Bibliographies

Notable American Unitarians

Moments of Vision: The Stroboscopic Revolution in Photography

The Education of a College President: A Memoir

History of the Office of the MIT President

Impacts of the Early Cold War on the Formulation of U.S.

Sputnik, Scientists & Eisenhower: A Memoir of the First Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology