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We’ve spent fifty proud years tackling the world’s most pressing issues.
The Union of Concerned Scientists was founded in 1969 by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That year, the Vietnam War was at its height and Cleveland’s heavily polluted Cuyahoga River had caught fire. Appalled at how the United States government was misusing science, the UCS founders, including Henry Kendall and Kurt Gottfried, drafted a statement calling for scientific research to be directed away from military technologies and toward solving pressing environmental and social problems.
We remain true to that founding vision. Throughout our history, UCS has followed the example set by the scientific community: we share information, seek the truth, and let our findings guide our conclusions.
It’s a powerful formula.
By mobilizing scientists and combining their voices with those of advocates, educators, business people, and other concerned citizens, UCS has built a reputation for fairness and accuracy and amassed an impressive history of accomplishments.
Founding documents
Major accomplishments
Led Scientists in Protest Against Space Weapons
Convened Top Scientists to Provide Facts on US Missile Defense
Rallied 100,000 Students for Teach-Ins on Nuclear War Threats
UCS launches work on renewable energy with publication of Energy Strategies: Toward A Solar Future.
UCS opens an office In Washington, DC.
Offered a Prescient Warning of Danger at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant
Reduced the Threat of the Nuclear Arms Race
Alerted Public to Defects of Nuclear Power Cooling Systems
UCS begins work on nuclear power safety.
Organized a Groundbreaking Mobilization of Scientists
