When Richard Atkinson became president in 1980, UC San Diego was a promising young university. By 1995, when Atkinson left to become president of the University of California system, UCSD was a world-renowned name in the top strata of academia.

Before UCSD, Atkinson was a director of the National Science Foundation. His research into learning led to development of computer-aided teaching systems.

For his accomplishments, Atkinson will receive the Vannevar Bush Award for his contributions to the nation in science and technology. The honor, to be presented Wednesday, highlights more than one person's achievements. It illustrates just how far San Diego's research institutions have come in a relatively short time.

UCSD doubled its size during Atkinson's tenure, and the university became one of the top five institutions receiving federal research money. But Atkinson's interests are larger than just cranking out research papers. He is concerned with what the research does for society as a whole.

Atkinson outlined his views in a statement before the California Senate in February 1996. The speech holds up well and is available on the Web at www.ucop.edu/pres/comments/senate.html.

Atkinson pointed to the great push for basic scientific research during World War II and the peacetime programs that followed. These were championed by none other than President Roosevelt's science adviser, Vannevar Bush.

Bush argued that by its nature, basic research would not attract enough funds from the private sector. So government must step in and pay for basic research. As the frontiers of knowledge are rolled back, commercial applications for basic research would become evident. At that point, private investment could take over.

The next question was, what institutions should perform this basic research, and how should it be organized? Atkinson pointed out that the Soviet Union handled research in institutions run by the federal government. France also used a central program.

By contrast, Bush advocated a more decentralized system. Its backbone is universities that perform basic research, funded by federal dollars granted on merit.

This arrangement has produced spectacular successes in basic research, such as the invention of recombinant DNA. It's arguably more important than ever, because the private sector has reduced basic research spending.

The famous Bell Labs, a font of innovation under AT&T, is now a shell of its former self as part of Lucent Technologies. And no newcomers in the private sector have picked up the slack to compensate for this decline.

By helping UCSD rise to the very top of elite research institutions, Atkinson not only helped San Diego and the country, he embodied Bush's vision.