Office of Naval Research (ONR)

Government agency that acts as a liaison between the U.S. Navy and the scientific and technical communities in the United States. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technological programs of the U.S Navy and Marine Corps through schools, universities, and government laboratories, as well as nonprofit and for-profit organizations. The ONR provides technical advice to the chief of naval operations and the secretary of the navy and works with industry to improve technological manufacturing processes.

The ONR has its roots in the World War II Office of Scientific Research, which established an office in London in 1940 for the exchange of war research between the United States and its allies. In May 1946, the London office became a branch of the Navy's Office of Research and Invention (ORI). Shortly thereafter, Congress transformed the ORI into the Office of Naval Research, with headquarters in Washington and London.

Although the London office had a strong connection to Great Britain, its mission extended beyond that country to survey and report on the rebuilding of Europe and developments in post-Nazi European science. The ONR Tokyo office, opened in 1977, shared a similar mission in Asia. In 1997, the London and Tokyo offices were merged into the present ONR International Field Office, whose scope includes all of Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa, Northeast and [Page 547]Southeast Asia, India, Australia, and New Zealand. An additional office was added in Singapore in 2000. Today, the International Field Office provides a single science and technology strategy to its users.

The ONR is responsible for four major programs: Liaison Visits, the Science and Technology Engagement Program (STEP), Conference Support Program (CSP), and Naval International Cooperation Opportunities in Science and Technology (NICOP). These programs range from formal conferences and meetings with science and technical people to programs teaming ONR investigators with academic, industrial, and government laboratories. The end product of these programs is input into the ONR's global database.