In 1987,I became the executive director of the Computer Science and Technology Board at the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington DC, charged with building and managing the new unit. I was to work to: develop and assure the quality of reports, which compile expert advice by the board on various issues in information technology (IT); build a portfolio of projects; and, in time, hire staff to work with committees under the boards aegis. During my first weeks on the job, reality set in. I was told that three previous boards dedicated solely to IT issues had been shut down. One had run out of funding, one had run out of ideas for new reports and the other had run out of both. Three years later, a telecommunications board with roots in the 1960s failed to secure funding from the US government and was absorbed by my group, which since then has been known as the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board.
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