University and Military Research: Moral Politics at M.I.T.

The events leading up to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's decision to divest the controversial Instrumentation Laboratory are vividly set forth in this engrossing case study. The decision, announced on May 20, 1970, followed a year of efforts to cope with dissent focused on the issue of weapons-related research on campus. Several key issues are illuminated in the narrative: the problems of defining appropriate research and public service policy in universities; the social responsibility of scientists and engineers; and the complicated relationship between government sponsorship and university research.