Today, a year later, the fate of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)-and with it the "Brilliant Pebbles" approach that Wood has proposed-remains an open question, as Congress debates whether the country needs and can afford such a military system. But many scientists say that the July 1988 meeting in the White House was much more than a technical briefing on Wood's idea for a lightweight, computer-driven, high-speed projectile to help defend the country. Nuckolls' presence at the meeting, they worry, was intended as an endorsement of a heightened political role for the 37-year-old laboratory-change that could jeopardize the lab's reputation for high-quality science and its ability to attract brilliant young talent. Such a role would also upset the traditional balance between those who advocate exotic new weapons systems and those who favor gradual improvements in existing hardware by giving the upper hand to the visionaries.
In addition, critics fear that ...
