Waterman, Alan

Waterman, Alan (Tower)

(1892–1967) physicist, scientific administrator; born in Cornwall, N.Y. He expanded radar's military applications in the Office of Scientific Research and Development (1942–46) and assigned scientists to military units. He was with the Office of Naval Research (1946–51). As the first director of the National Science Foundation (1951–63), he funded basic science research with an annual budget that grew to $500 million.