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Small Business Innovation Research Program Records

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Held at: Science History Institute Archives [Contact Us]315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Science History Institute Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
042
Repository:
Science History Institute Archives
Extent:
8.3 linear feet (7 boxes.)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Small Business Innovation Research Program Records, 1956-2006, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Date:
1956-2006 (inclusive) and 1970-1982 (bulk)
Creator:
Obermayer, Arthur S., 1931-2016
Form:
Archival materials
Abstract:
Correspondence, biographical materials, manuscripts, abstracts, congressional testimony, copies of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives legislation, copies of congressional records, and publications of the Small Business Innovation Research Program, which were collected and maintained by American businessman and philanthropist Arthur S. Obermayer.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a United States Government program, coordinated by the Small Business Administration. The program grew out of a 1965 proposal for a State Technical Services Act which would have provided support for commercial research. This act was never ratified into law, but by 1970, with the Vietnam War coming to an end, cut-backs in government defense spending created a crisis for research and development (R and D) firms dependent upon government contracts. Under the rubric "economic conversion," shifting from a military to civilian market, the federal and state governments began looking for ways to alleviate the problems of unemployment in the technology sector and a loss of confidence in the financial sector.

The Small Business Innovation Research program was to be administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), creating concerns among NSF's established academic constituency that this would be used by for-profit businesses on funds badly needed for their own research. U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 was especially favored by the small business community in that it provided a set-aside for support of small high-tech firms and the accompanying Bayh-Dole Patent Bill would provide protection for any patent-worthy innovations arising out of government-funded research. The Bayh-Dole Patent Act (Public Law 96-517) was signed into law by U.S. President Jimmy Carter on December 12, 1980. The SBIR program was established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-219) with the purpose of strengthening the role of innovative small business concerns in Federally-funded research and development. The Act awarded federal research grants to small businesses. Arthur S. Obermayer played a major role in promoting the passage through the U.S. Congress of the Small Business Innovation Development Act and the Bayh-Dole Patent Act.

Arthur S. Obermayer was an American businessman and philanthropist with a background in chemistry. Obermayer was born on July 17, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1956). In 1961, he founded Moleculon Research Corporation, a chemical, polymer, and pharmaceutical research and development company. In 1981, Obermayer was a founding general partner of Zero Stage Capital, LLP, an early stage venture capital organization. Moleculon, Incorporated went public in 1984 and was sold to the largest independent Australian pharmaceutical company in 1988.

Obermayer's work on the campaign he initiated to see Reverend Robert F. Drinan (Democrat-Massachusetts) elected to the U.S. House of Representatives was the beginning of his involvement in Democratic Party politics. In 1970, he gave testimony before U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy's (Democrat-Massachusetts) committee on problems relating to economic conversion. In addition to Congressman Drinan, he formed close ties with U.S. Senators Edward Kennedy and George McGovern (Democrat-South Dakota). In the battle to see SBIR become law, Obermayer and his wife Dr. Judith Obermayer worked with and through the Association of Technical Professionals (ATP), the Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE), and the Research Management Association (RMA). Beginning in 1995, he advised over forty organizations on strategies for effectively using the Internet.

As a philanthropist, Obermayer co-founded Meretz USA (later known as Partners for Progressive Israel) in 1992. In 2000, he co-founded the Obermayer German Jewish History Awards with the genealogical organization JewishGen and the Leo Baeck Institute. Obermayer was a recipient of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2007. In 2015, he and his wife, Judith, were inducted into the United States Small Business Administration Hall of Fame. Arthur S. Obermayer passed away on January 10, 2016 in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Sources

Small Business Innovation Research Program Records, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records contain the institutional records of the organization and the personal records of Arthur S. Obermayer. The collection is broadly organized along the lines of "who did what": Series I concerns the contributions of Arthur S. Obermeyer; Series II concerns the activities of the National Council for Small Business Innovation (NCSBI); Series III concerns the contributions of U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" M. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts), who became the program's foremost congressional champion; Series IV concerns the SBIR Act and its accompanying legislation, the Bayh-Dole Patent Act; Series V-VI provide the background to the legislation that was finally produced and to deal with the problem of economic conversion in the wake of the Vietnam War. The collection is arranged into the following seven series:

  1. Arthur S. Obermayer
  2. 1980 White House Conference on Small Business/National Council for Small Business Innovation
  3. Small Business Innovation Research and National Science Foundation/Bayh-Dole Patent Act
  4. Federal Legislation/Policy Documents
  5. Economic Conversion
  6. U.S. and Massachusetts Government Response
  7. Arthur S. Obermayer Addenda

The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records were donated to the Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation) by Arthur S. Obermayer in 2012.

The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records were processed by Andrew Mangravite in 2017 and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher in 2021.

There are no other known archival collections created by the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records at the time of processing.

There are three known archival collections created by Arthur S. Obermayer at the date of processing:

1. Arthur S. Obermayer Papers, American Jewish Historical Society, New York, New York. 2. Arthur S. Obermayer Cube Suit Collection, Strong National Museum of Play, Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, Rochester, New York. 3. Arthur S. Obermayer Collection, Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

People
Organization
Subject

Publisher
Science History Institute Archives
Finding Aid Author
The Small Business Innovation Research Program Records were processed by Andrew Mangravite in 2017 and encoded into EAD by Samantha Brigher in 2021.
Finding Aid Date
2017
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials.

Use Restrictions

The Science History Institute holds copyright to the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. The researcher assumes full responsibility for all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Collection Inventory

Series Description

This series contains the Arthur S. Obermayer files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of thirty-five files in Box 1. These files concern the contributions of Arthur S. Obermayer to the Small Business Innovation Research Program and contain talks, congressional testimonies, speeches, and published articles by Obermayer.

Testimony by Dr. Arthur S. Obermayer before U.S. Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee - Hearings on Economic Conversion, 1970 April 3.
Box 1 Folder 1
General Note

Obermayer's first testimony on this issue; this file includes a Research Management Association statement regarding the effect of the inclusion of cost-sharing on for-profit organizations as mandated by Public Law 91-126, Section 408, and an economic conversion "packet" list of important files.

Research Management Association - Mutual Assistance Program for Conversion (Incl. biographical information on Congressman Michael J. Harrington (Democrat-Massachusetts).), 1971 January 14.
Box 1 Folder 2
Massachusetts Society of Professional Engineers - National Engineers' Week Seminar on Employment Conversion, Boston, Massachusetts (Arthur S. Obermayer presentation on effects of government cutbacks.), 1971 February 25.
Box 1 Folder 3
Testimony - U.S. Representative Robert F. Drinan's (Democrat-Massachusetts) Commission on Economic Conversion, Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts (Arthur S. Obermayer questions the government's overly-broad definition of "R and D" in making funding decisions.), 1971 March 26.
Box 1 Folder 4
State Technical Services Act - Testimony by Arthur S. Obermayer in support of the State Technical Services Act of 1965 (Incl. correspondence with his father, Leon J. Obermayer.), 1965-1971.
Box 1 Folder 5
"What Do We Really Mean by R and D?" - Presentation by Arthur S. Obermayer given at the Conference on Economic Conversion, New Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., March 31-April 1, 1971 (Partial re-working of Framingham College talk.), 1971.
Box 1 Folder 6
Related Materials

See also Box 1 Folder 1.

"Strategy of Survival: 'Now' Ideas in Money and Marketing" - Presentation by Arthur S. Obermayer, Northeastern University, Small Business Center, Boston, Massachusetts, April 30, 1971 (Innovation versus cost-effectiveness; incl. correspondence.), 1971.
Box 1 Folder 7
Current Conversion Legislation, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (Arthur S. Obermayer endorsed the Kennedy Economic Conversion Loan Bill.), 1971 April.
Box 1 Folder 8
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development, Washington, D.C. (Arthur S. Obermayer on the differences between government contractors and commercial enterprises.), 1971 June 23.
Box 1 Folder 9
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce and Finance, Washington, D.C. (Arthur S. Obermayer on the decline of manufacturing.), 1971 June 24.
Box 1 Folder 10
"Why Should Engineers Get Involved in Politics?" - New England Society for Experimental Stress Analysis (Arthur S. Obermayer's call-to-action to fellow manufacturers.), 1971 October 6.
Box 1 Folder 11
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Government Procurement, Washington, D.C. (Arthur S. Obermayer on the problem of government reception of unsolicited proposals. Incl. a manuscript copy and draft versions.), 1971 November 17.
Box 1 Folder 12
Introduction and statement by Arthur S. Obermayer to a George McGovern speech to the Association of Technical Professionals (The speech was given to members of the ATP. Obermayer again calls for a united professional response.), 1972 April 17.
Box 1 Folder 13
Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) - 1972 Legislative Program on Research and Development, Washington, D.C. (Incl. Arthur S. Obermayer's draft of legislative proposals.), 1972 May 17.
Box 1 Folder 14
"The Special Problems of the Small R and D Firm Selling to the Federal Government," Survival and Growth: The Small R and D Firm, Washington, D.C., June 12-14, 1972 (Arthur S. Obermayer presentation; includes manuscript and correspondence.), 1972.
Box 1 Folder 15
Survival and Growth II, Los Angeles, California, September 27-29, 1972 (A repeat of Arthur S. Obermayer's Washington, D.C. talk which again focused on the problem of getting an unsolicited proposal seriously considered and funded.), 1972 September 29.
Box 1 Folder 16
Science and Public Policy Lecture, Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts, (Arthur S. Obermayer calls for involvement in the political process.), 1973 March 3.
Box 1 Folder 17
Engineering Manpower Commission, Engineers Joint Council, New York, New York (re: Are engineers truly professionals?), 1973 March 15.
Box 1 Folder 18
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Development-Space-Science-Veterans, Washington, D.C. (Arthur S. Obermayer on the unreasonableness of mandatory cost-sharing.), 1973 May 17.
Box 1 Folder 19
5th Interagency Executive Conference on Small Business, Bedford, Pennsylvania, October 22-24, 1975 (Arthur S. Obermayer delivered the Keynote Speech on unequal government treatment afforded to smaller businesses.), 1975 October.
Box 1 Folder 20
Testimony - Hearings on National Science Foundation Authorization Act for 1979 (In support of NSF Small Business Innovation Program. Incl. Arthur S. Obermayer's "prep notes" and correspondence.), undated.
Box 1 Folder 21
"Innovation Under Government Guidance," Chemtech (A partial re-hash of Arthur S. Obermayer's National Science Foundation testimony files. Incl. correspondence.), 1978 May.
Box 1 Folder 22
Technological Innovation Conference, The Hague, Netherlands, July 10-12, 1978 (Arthur S. Obermayer was in attendance.), 1978.
Box 1 Folder 23
"The Role of Small Business in Science and Technology" - Testimony before Joint Hearings of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Small Business Committee, August 9-10, 1978 (Arthur S. Obermayer on government preference for dealing with big rather than small companies. Incl. a draft of the testimony.), 1978.
Box 1 Folder 24
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy, Environment, Safety, and Research - Hearing on problems of small research and development firms, 1978 December 11.
Box 1 Folder 25
Testimony - U.S. Senate Bill S.414 - Bayh-Dole Bill (Arthur S. Obermayer on the need for increased patent protections for small businesses doing work on government projects.), 1979 April 11.
Box 1 Folder 26
Industrial Research Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Arthur S. Obermayer in support of the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Program.), 1979 April 24.
Box 1 Folder 27
American Association for the Advancement of Science Colloquium on R and D Policy - Arthur S. Obermayer Domestic Policy Review, 1979 June 19.
Box 1 Folder 28
Small Business Association, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Bureau of Standards, and Housing and Urban Development Meeting - "Opportunities for Small R and D and High-Technology-Based Firms in Government," October 24-26, 1979 (Arthur S. Obermayer statement on "political pussyfooting."), 1979 October.
Box 1 Folder 29
U.S. House of Representatives - Arthur S. Obermayer statement on Federal Patent Policy (On the problem of patent ownership rights.), 1979 October 17.
Box 1 Folder 30
Testimony on U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 before the Senate Small Business Committee (Incl. testimony by Dr. Judith Obermayer on S.1860.), 1980 March 18.
Box 1 Folder 31
Arthur S. Obermayer Review of Kill Devil Hill (Obermayer often cites the Wright Brothers as exemplars of small business perseverance in the face of government obtuseness. Incl. a manuscript and drafts.), 1980 May 27.
Box 1 Folder 32
Testimony - Subcommittee on Innovation and Technology of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee - Hearing on U.S. Senate Bill S.881, Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Corrected transcript of Arthur S. Obermayer's testimony in support of this bill.), undated.
Box 1 Folder 33
Testimony - U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology on the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 (Arthur S. Obermayer's testimony in support of this legislation.), undated.
Box 1 Folder 34
Democratic Small Business Council, Washington, D.C. - Arthur S. Obermayer presentation on innovation and technology legislation, 1983 February 3.
Box 1 Folder 35

Series Description

Milton Stewart, Chief Council for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration, instituted this council for the purpose of promoting the National Science Foundation's SBIR Program to members of Congress with the ultimate goal of making it a government-wide program. He also organized the White House Conference on Small Business which was held on March 13, 1980.

This series contains the White House Conference on Small Business/National Council for Small Business Innovation files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of fourteen files in Box 2. These files contain the following materials about the 1980 White House Conference on Small Business National Council for Small Business Innovation (NCSBI): NCSBI lists, administrative documents, and Articles of Incorporation; reprints, notes, and correspondence regarding displeasure with the Carter Administration; testimony, correspondence, and copies of U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 about the Small Business Innovation Act of 1979 and U.S. House Resolution 5607 about the Small Business Innovation Act of 1980; a report to the U.S. President entitled "America's Small Business Economy"; and materials about the White House Conference on Small Business.

National Council for Small Business Innovation - Lists, 1979-1980.
Box 2 Folder 1
National Council for Small Business Innovation - Administration - M. Virginia Davis (Consultant) (Incl. Articles of Incorporation.), 1980.
Box 2 Folder 2
National Council for Small Business Innovation - Travelling Exhibition - "Eureka!" (Arthur S. Obermayer served on this committee.), 1980.
Box 2 Folder 3
National Council for Small Business Innovation - Reprints, notes, and correspondence (re: NCSBI's growing disenchantment with the Carter Administration.), 1980.
Box 2 Folder 4
Testimony - U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 (Incl. correspondence and copies of House Resolution 5607 and S.1860.), 1979-1980.
Box 2 Folder 5
Testimony - U.S. Senate Small Business Committee (Arthur S. Obermayer and others.), 1980 March 13.
Box 2 Folder 6
White House Conference on Small Business - Pre-conference, 1979.
Box 2 Folder 7
White House Conference on Small Business, January 13-17, 1980 (Binder of issue papers.), 1980 January.
Box 2 Folder 8
White House Conference on Small Business, January 13-17, 1980 (Information packet.), 1980 January.
Box 2 Folder 9
White House Conference on Small Business - Implementation Meeting, 1980 March 17.
Box 2 Folder 10
White House Conference on Small Business - Post-conference, 1980.
Box 2 Folder 11
Report to the U.S. President - "America's Small Business Economy", 1980 April.
Box 2 Folder 12
White House Conference on Small Business - Massachusetts Delegates Meetings, 1979.
Box 2 Folder 13
White House Conference on Small Business - Innovation Issue (In support of U.S. Senate Bill S.1860. Includes Options Paper and Report of the Smaller Business Association of New England Committee on Small Business and Innovation.), 1979-1980.
Box 2 Folder 14

Series Description

Although the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program became a government-funded program, there was still concern about the apportionment of National Science Foundation (NSF) funding to private entrepreneurs as opposed to universities. U.S. Senate Bill S.1860, the Small Business Innovation Act of 1979, which provided for both the SBIR Program and the Bayh-Dole Patent Act, protecting the rights of small innovators working for government agencies, became the small business owners' preferred piece of legislation and eventually became law despite stiff opposition from the academic community.

This series contains the Small Business Innovation Research and National Science Foundation/Bayh-Dole Act files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of thirty-five files in Box 3. The contents of the files are arranged into the following two sub-series:

  1. Small Business Innovation Research and National Science Foundation
  2. Bayh-Dole Patent Act
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of twenty-seven files in Box 3. These files contain materials about U.S. President Jimmy Carter's position on small business and employment, an outline of the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) and On-the-Job Training (OJT), National Advisory Council Meetings, correspondence from U.S. Senator John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts), and talk material used for the American Academic and Scholarly Research Center (AASRC).

Senator Edward M. Kennedy - Small Business Task Force, 1981-1985.
Box 3 Folder 1
Senator Edward M. Kennedy - General (re: Controversy involving National Science Foundation funding.), 1977-1986.
Box 3 Folder 2
Arthur S. Obermayer - Kennedy Fund Raiser, October 1982 (Incl. attendee list from the 1976 Kennedy Science Party.), 1976, 1982.
Box 3 Folder 3
Kennedy Fund Raiser 1988 (Incl. attendee lists.), 1988.
Box 3 Folder 4
Kennedy/Venture Capital Legislation - Letter from Arthur S. Obermayer to U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (re: Obermayer against the proposal of opening up SBIR to companies that are majority-owned by venture capital (VC) organizations.), 2006.
Box 3 Folder 5
National Science Foundation - Small Business Innovation Research 1976-1980 (Incl. Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) brochure.), 1976-1980.
Box 3 Folder 6
Research Applied to National Needs (RANN), 1971-1974.
Box 3 Folder 7
National Science Foundation - Small Business Innovation Research 1979 (Incl. Arthur S. Obermayer's testimony before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee.), 1977-1981.
Box 3 Folder 8
National Science Foundation - Small Business Innovation Research 1979 - Problems - Proposals submitted by Arthur S. Obermayer/Moleculon Research Corporation to the National Science Foundation and rejected (Obermayer asserts a lack of detailed information on exactly why favorably-reviewed proposals were rejected.), 1979.
Box 3 Folder 9
Small Business Innovation Research - U.S. Senate Bill S.881 (Incl. congressional report on a need for consistent criteria.), 1979-1982.
Box 3 Folder 10
Small Business Innovation Research 1981 (Incl. General Accounting Office report on small businesses and innovation.), 1981.
Box 3 Folder 11
Small Business Innovation Research - Handouts (Incl. Arthur S. Obermayer's testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology on the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982.), 1981, 1986.
Box 3 Folder 12
Small Business Innovation Research 1982, 1982.
Box 3 Folder 13
Senator Warren Rudman (Republican-New Hampshire) Committee - U.S. Senate Bill S.881 (Incl. Arthur S. Obermayer testimony, drafts, and notes.), 1981-1982.
Box 3 Folder 14
Small Business Innovation Research 1983 - Small Business High Technology Institute Survey of SBIR, 1983.
Box 3 Folder 15
U.S. President Jimmy Carter - Position on small business and employment, 1976-1977.
Box 3 Folder 16
Small Business Task Force - Senator Paul E. Tsongas (Democrat-Massachusetts), 1980, 1983.
Box 3 Folder 17
Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 - Outline from Bentley College Small Business Development Center, Waltham, Massachusetts, undated.
Box 3 Folder 18
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) - On-the-Job Training (Political) - Arthur S. Obermayer proposal for a Back-to-Work program (Incl. correspondence.), 1976-1978.
Box 3 Folder 19
Small Business Development Act of 1977, 1977-1978.
Box 3 Folder 20
First National Advisory Council Meeting, 1981 June 22.
Box 3 Folder 21
Second National Advisory Council Meeting, 1982 April 22.
Box 3 Folder 22
Third National Advisory Council Meeting, 1983 April 12.
Box 3 Folder 23
Fourth National Advisory Council Meeting, 1984 March 15.
Box 3 Folder 24
Senator John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts) - Economic Development Advisory Group - correspondence, 1985-1988.
Box 3 Folder 25
Small Business Innovation Research 1984 (Incl. information on protecting intellectual property.), 1984.
Box 3 Folder 26
Small Business Innovation Research - Talk material/used 1985 American Academic and Scholarly Research Center (AASRC), 1981-1985.
Box 3 Folder 27
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of eight files in Box 3. These files primarily contain materials about the Bayh-Dole Patent Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-517), a piece of U.S. legislation dealing with inventions arising from federal government-funded research. The act is an amendment to previous patent and trademark laws. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Senators Birch Bayh (Democrat-Indiana) and Bob Dole (Republican-Kansas). These files contain publications, correspondence, congressional bills, and congressional testimonies about the Bayh-Dole Patent Act.

Bayh-Dole - News releases, newspaper articles, and magazine articles, 1972, 1978-1980.
Box 3 Folder 28
Bayh-Dole - Background Material - correspondence, 1971, 1978-1980.
Box 3 Folder 29
Bayh-Dole - Bills and testimony (Arthur S. Obermayer and others.), 1979-1980.
Box 3 Folder 30
Bayh-Dole - U.S. Senate Committee Report Bill (University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act. Incl. other information after December 12, 1979.), 1979-1980.
Box 3 Folder 31
Bayh-Dole - Testimony, May 16, 1979 (Arthur S. Obermayer and others. Incl. related information.), 1978-1979.
Box 3 Folder 32
Bayh-Dole - Administration Alternative (Government Patent Policy Act of 1979.), 1979-1981.
Box 3 Folder 33
Bayh-Dole - "Ad Hoc" Committee Patent Fee Regulation, 1980-1981.
Box 3 Folder 34
Bayh-Dole - Public Law 96-517 - "An Act to Amend the Trademark and Patent Law", undated.
Box 3 Folder 35

Series Description

This series contains the Federal Legislation/Policy Documents files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of sixteen files in Box 4. The contents of the files are arranged into the following two sub-series:

  1. Federal Legislation
  2. Policy Documents
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of eight files in Box 4. These files contain materials about congressional hearings before the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare about postwar economic conversion, Subcommittee on National Science Foundation of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare about the National Science Foundation conversion programs, Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of the Committee on Science and Technology about the 1979 National Science Foundation Authorization Act, Committee on the Judiciary about the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act, and the Select Committee on Small Business about the Small Business Innovation Act of 1979 (U.S. Senate Bill S.1860).

Postwar Economic Conversion (Part 2) - Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1970 March 29, 1970 April 3.
Box 4 Folder 1
National Science Foundation Conversion Programs - Hearings before the U.S. Senate Special Subcommittee on National Science Foundation of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, 1971 October 26-1971 October 27.
Box 4 Folder 2
1979 National Science Foundation Authorization - Hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of the Committee on Science and Technology, January 24-26, 31, 1978 , 1978 January 24-1978 January 31.
Box 4 Folder 3
University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act - Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 1979 May 16, 1979 June 6.
Box 4 Folder 4
University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act - Report of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, December 12 (November 29), 1979, 1979 November-1979 December.
Box 4 Folder 5
U.S. Senate Bill S.1860 - Small Business Innovation Act of 1979 - Hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Small Business, March 18, April 2, 15, and 16, 1980, 1980 March 18-1980 April 16.
Box 4 Folder 6
U.S. Senate Bill S.881 - Small Business Innovation and Research Act of 1981 - Hearings before the Senate Subcommittee on Innovation and Technology of the Committee on Small Business, June 30, July 15, 16, and 17, 1981, 1981 June 30-1981 July 16.
Box 4 Folder 7
Small Business Innovation Development Act - Hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, 1982 January 26-1982 January 28.
Box 4 Folder 8
Sub-series Description

Arranged in its original order, this sub-series consists of eight files in Box 4. These files contain a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce about technological innovation, a congressional hearing before the Advisory Committee on Economic Conversion chaired by U.S. Representative Robert F. Drinan (Democrat-Massachusetts), the Proceedings of the First National Conference and West Coast Conference of the Small Business Administration about "Survival and Growth of the Small R and D Firm," Arthur S. Obermayer's address "Industrial Innovation Research-Grantee Conference for the NSF Industrial Program ISPT," the proceedings of the AAAS Committee on Science, and reports and exhibitions by the Small Business Administration (SBI).

U.S. Department of Commerce - "Technological Innovation: Its Environment and Management", 1967 September.
Box 4 Folder 9
U.S. Congressman Robert F. Drinan's Advisory Committee on Economic Conversion - Hearing held at Lindsay Hall, Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts, 1971 March 26.
Box 4 Folder 10
National Science Foundation - Small Business Administration Department of Commerce - "Survival and Growth: The Small R and D Firm," Proceedings of the First National Conference, 1972 June 12-1972 June 14.
Box 4 Folder 11
Small Business Administration - Department of Commerce National Aeronautics and Space Agency - "Survival and Growth (II): The Small R and D Firm," Proceedings of a West Coast Conference, September 27, 28, 29, 1972, 1972 September.
Box 4 Folder 12
"Industrial Innovation Research: Grantee Conference for the National Science Foundation Industrial Program ISPT," April 23, 24, and 25, 1979 (Pages containing introductory matter and Arthur S. Obermayer's address only.), 1979 April.
Box 4 Folder 13
American Association for the Advancement of Science - Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy - Federal R and D/R and D, Industry and the Economy/International Aspects of R and D, Colloquium Proceeding, 1979 June 19-1979 June 20.
Box 4 Folder 14
U.S. Small Business Administration - "Small Business and Administration," Report of an SBA Office of Advocacy Task Force, 1979 July.
Box 4 Folder 15
Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration - "Eureka!" - Exhibition sponsored by SBA, undated.
Box 4 Folder 16

Series Description

Towards the end of the Vietnam War, many technology and engineering firms that had been dependent upon Defense Department contracts experienced a crisis, resulting in widespread lay-offs of skilled personnel and a belated recognition by the government at both the state and national levels that action needed to be taken to alleviate this situation. The term "economic conversion" was used to allude to the problem of redirecting the emphasis of these businesses. This material deals with the conversion problem as it affected the State of Massachusetts.

This series contains the Economic Conversion files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of thirty-one files in Box 5. These files contain the following materials about economic conversion policies and legislation: responses to a questionnaire submitted by the Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization and Government Research to the Committee on Government Operations, newsletters and published articles about conversion hardships, articles about mandatory cost-sharing; correspondence, meeting minutes, and program materials of the National Science Foundation Advisory Panel to Experimental R and D Incentives Program (ERDIP); correspondence, news clippings, and Arthur S. Obermayer's notes about congressional hearings on economic conversion before the U.S. Senate Labor and Welfare Committee; correspondence, news clippings, official press releases, and Obermayer's notes about the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors; correspondence and testimony about the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Small Business; and correspondence, copies of U.S. Senate bills and House Resolution bills, and testimonies from U.S. congressmen, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts), Senator George McGovern (Democrat-South Dakota), Congressman Robert F. Drinan (Democrat-Massachusetts), and Congressman F. Bradford Morse (Republican-Massachusetts).

National Economic Conversion Commission - Responses to Subcommittee Questionnaire submitted by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization and Government Research to the Committee on Government Operations on Senate Bill S.1285, 1970 September.
Box 5 Folder 1
Association of Technical Professionals 1970-77 - Newsletters and published articles on conversion hardships, 1970-1977.
Box 5 Folder 2
Economic Conversion 1971 Forward (File of print articles on the topic.), 1970-1977.
Box 5 Folder 3
Economic Conversion 1970-73 - Articles on mandatory cost-sharing, 1970-1976.
Box 5 Folder 4
Senator George McGovern - Science Technology/Conversion issue, 1972-1973.
Box 5 Folder 5
Senator Edward M. Kennedy - On the conversion issue, 1970-1977.
Box 5 Folder 6
National Science Foundation - Advisory Panel to Experimental R and D Incentives Program (ERPIP) - Correspondence and program materials (Incl. outlines of several ERPIP "experiments."), 1972-1975.
Box 5 Folder 7
National Science Foundation - New Incentives Program - Correspondence, testimony, and news clippings, 1972-1974.
Box 5 Folder 8
National Science Foundation - Experimental R and D Incentives Program 1973 - Meeting minutes (Incl. abstracts of three proposals.), 1974 May 10.
Box 5 Folder 9
Senator Thomas Eagleton (Democrat-Missouri) - Conversion - U.S. Senate Bill S.32 - Arthur S. Obermayer notes and congressional record, 1971, 1972.
Box 5 Folder 10
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts) - U.S. Senate Bill S.32 - Arthur S. Obermayer notes and congressional record, 1972.
Box 5 Folder 11
Patent Bill - House Resolution 10914, Burke (Incl. copy of House Resolution 10914.), 1971-1973.
Box 5 Folder 12
Congressman Robert F. Drinan (Democrat-Massachusetts) - Conversion (Incl. copy of House Resolution 6434.), 1970-1975.
Box 5 Folder 13
Congressman Robert F. Drinan File (Democrat-Massachusetts) - Correspondence on economic conversion and other issues, 1971.
Box 5 Folder 14
Conversion Hearings - Correspondence and supporting documentation, 1970-1971, 1978.
Box 5 Folder 15
Research Management Association (RMA) Statement on Public Law 91-126, Section 708, 5/70 (Objection to mandatory cost-sharing provision of the bill.), 1969-1973.
Box 5 Folder 16
U.S. Department of Defense Authorization - Section 203 - Published Articles (Section 203 refers to restricted defense-supported research to projects directly associated with military needs.), 1969-1971.
Box 5 Folder 17
U.S. Department of Defense Authorization - Section 403 - Correspondence, press releases, and U.S. Senate report, 1970-1971, 1975.
Box 5 Folder 18
Hearings on Economic Conversion - U.S. Senate Labor and Welfare Committee (Incl. correspondence, news clippings, and Arthur S. Obermayer's notes.), 1970-1972.
Box 5 Folder 19
U.S. Council of Economic Advisors - Correspondence, news clippings, official press releases, and Arthur S. Obermayer's notes, 1971-1974.
Box 5 Folder 20
White House Staff - William E. McGlashan (Special Assistant to George Schultz.) - Correspondence, 1973.
Box 5 Folder 21
Senator Edward W. Brooke (Republican-Massachusetts) - Conversion (Incl. Brooke testimony on problems of economic conversion.), 1970-1973.
Box 5 Folder 22
U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Small Business - Subcommittee on Government Procurement, November 17, 1971 - Correspondence and testimony by Arthur S. Obermayer and others, 1971.
Box 5 Folder 23
Congressman F. Bradford Morse (Democrat-Massachusetts) - Conversion - Correspondence, Arthur S. Obermayer's notes, and his testimony on the State Technical Services Act, 1971-1972.
Box 5 Folder 24
McGovern-Morse Conversion Bill - Copies of U.S. Senate Bills, House of Representatives Bills, and Congressman F. Bradford Morse (Democrat-Massachusetts) newsletters, 1970-1971.
Box 5 Folder 25
Congressman Michael J. Harrington (Democrat-Massachusetts), U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee - Testimony regarding States Technical Services Act and economic conversion, 1971, 1973.
Box 5 Folder 26
Congressman Paul Cronin (Republican-Massachusetts), U.S. House of Representatives Science and Aeronautics Committee - Correspondence, 1973.
Box 5 Folder 27
State Technical Services (STS) Bill (Incl. correspondence, House Resolution 6976, notes, and testimony by Arthur S. Obermayer.), 1971-1972.
Box 5 Folder 28
Technical Assistance Program - Correspondence and supporting material, 1971.
Box 5 Folder 29
Mutual Assistance Program for Conversion - Arthur S. Obermayer's approach to economic conversion, 1971.
Box 5 Folder 30
Mazzocchi, Anthony. "Scientists and Engineers Must Unite," Chemical and Engineering News, Volume 50, Issue 18, 1972 May 1.
Box 5 Folder 31

Series Description

This series contains the U.S. and Massachusetts Government Response files of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of twenty-one files in Box 6. These files contain materials about U.S. congressional hearings on economic conversion, speeches and correspondence from Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts), testimony given by Arthur S. Obermayer before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, a typescript of an interview with Obermayer; correspondence and a copy of the mission statement of the National Council for Industrial Innovation (NCII), and news articles, press releases, congressional records, correspondence, position papers, and notes about the Small Business Innovative Research Program.

U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare (Incl. Defense Department Procurement Circular.), 1971-1975.
Box 6 Folder 1
U.S. Government Legislation (Incl. reports, bills, etc.), 1972-1976.
Box 6 Folder 2
Conversion Hearings - Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Independent Offices Appropriations Act, Section 408, Cost-sharing, 1970-1973.
Box 6 Folder 3
Conversion Hearings - National Science Foundation - Conversion, 1971-1972.
Box 6 Folder 4
Senator Edward M. Kennedy - Speeches and correspondence (re: Support for small businesses.), 1974-1976.
Box 6 Folder 5
U.S. Senate Small Business Committee (Incl. testimony by Arthur S. Obermayer.), 1978-1979.
Box 6 Folder 6
Small Business Innovation Research 1981 - Makeup of National Advisory Committee and Business Practices and Records Act, 1981.
Box 6 Folder 7
Small Business Innovation Research - News articles and press releases, 1982-1983.
Box 6 Folder 8
Small Business Innovation Research - News articles and press releases, 1976-1979.
Box 6 Folder 9
Small Business Innovation Program, OMB, 1978-1979.
Box 6 Folder 10
Small Business Innovation Research - Congressional record, 1982 June 17, 1982 June 22.
Box 6 Folder 11
Small Business Innovation Program - Roland Tibbetts (Solicitation Coordinator) - Correspondence, position papers, and notes by Arthur S. Obermayer, 1978-1981.
Box 6 Folder 12
Small Business Innovation Research Programs (Non-National Science Foundation), 1978-1979, 1984.
Box 6 Folder 13
Small Business Innovation Program - U.S. Congress, 1977-1981.
Box 6 Folder 14
Small Business Innovation Program - Milton Stewart (Advocacy Office, Small Business Administration), 1977-1979.
Box 6 Folder 15
Small Business Innovation Research - Department of Defense (Hal Felsher, Director, Small Business, and Economic Utilization Policy), 1979-1981.
Box 6 Folder 16
William T. Magruder - Technology Initiatives, 1971-1972.
Box 6 Folder 17
Small Business Association - "Reaction to Productivity Growth Decline" - Corrected typescript of interview with Arthur S. Obermayer (Incl. correspondence and "Selected Abstracts of Completed Research Studies," with article by Dr. Judith Obermayer.), 1980, 1981.
Box 6 Folder 18
National Council for Industrial Innovation (NCII) - Mission statement and correspondence (Incl. two brochures from National Coalition for Science and Technology.), 1979-1988.
Box 6 Folder 19
Bay State Conversion Group - "The Case for Economic Conversion," 2nd Printing, 1980 September.
Box 6 Folder 20
Small Business Innovation Research - Tibbetts Award - "Awardee Profiles" (Arthur S. Obermayer profiled. Incl. correspondence.), 1996-1997.
Box 6 Folder 21

Series Description

This series contains the Arthur S. Obermayer Addenda of the Small Business Innovation Research Program Records. Arranged in its original order, this series consists of one file in Box 7. This file contains Arthur S. Obermayer's Ph.D. dissertation "Polyfunctionality in Polar Displacement Reactions."

Obermayer, Arthur S. "Polyfunctionality in Polar Displacement Reactions," Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. dissertation.), 1956.
Box 7 Folder 1

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