Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD)

The Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) was an agency of the United States federal government created to coordinate scientific research for military purposes during World War II. The research included projects devoted to new and more accurate bombs, reliable detonators, radar, sonar and early-warning systems, lighter and more accurate hand weapons, more effective medical treatments, more versatile vehicles, and, most secret of all, the Manhattan Project which developed the first atomic bomb.