Vannevar Bush (1890–1974) was an American engineer and science administrator, primarily known for his work in the development of analog computing and his role in the U.S. government's science policy during and after World War II. He is perhaps most famous for his conceptualization of the "Memex," a theoretical device described in his 1945 essay "As We May Think," which outlined a system for storing and accessing information that closely resembles modern ideas of hypertext and the internet.
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Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator whose 1945 report Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush argued for sustained support of basic research and scientific training. He distinguished research aimed at general understanding from work directed toward a particular practical result, while stressing that the two activities depend on each other.
His argument concerned uncertainty as well as usefulness: the practical results of any one investigation cannot be predicted reliably, yet a continuing supply of new knowledge makes later technological development possible. He therefore proposed support for researchers and institutions rather than judging every investigation solely by an immediate product. The report links the organization of scientific work to the long-term development of engineering.[ref]
Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush. Chapter 3, The Importance of Basic Research and Centers of Basic Research; chapter 4, Renewal of Our Scientific Talent
Portrait of Vannevar Bush
. OEM Defense / Office for Emergency Management, via Library of Congress, digital ID cph.3a37339; crop by Goszei. Public domain (U.S. federal government work; file uses PD-US-Treasury tag). Source and usage information on the linked Wikimedia file page. Source.