The United States Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) was a

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

organization formed from the split of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1975. It assumed the functions of the AEC not assumed by the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...

. The agency was created as part of the

Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (, codified at 42 U.S.C.A. § 5801) is a United States federal law that established the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, a single agency, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, h ...

, which was passed on October 11, 1974, in the wake of the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

. The act split the Atomic Energy Commission into two new agencies: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would regulate the commercial

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

industry, while the ERDA would manage the energy

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s, and

naval reactors Naval Reactors (NR), also known as the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is an umbrella term for the U.S. government office that has comprehensive responsibility for the safe and reliable operation of the United States Navy's nuclear propulsion p ...

programs. The Energy Research and Development Administration was established on January 19, 1975. The first administrator was

Robert Seamans Robert Channing Seamans Jr. (October 30, 1918 – June 28, 2008) was an MIT professor who served as NASA Deputy Administrator and 9th United States Secretary of the Air Force. Birth and education He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to Pauli ...

, followed by Robert W. Fri. In 1977, ERDA was merged with the

Federal Energy Administration The Federal Energy Administration (FEA) was a United States government organization created in 1974 to address the 1970s energy crisis, and specifically the 1973 oil crisis.Staff report (May 8, 1974). Energy Crisis Still With Us, Nixon Warns. ''Los ...

to form the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

References

External links

DOE.gov: History of ERDA—Energy Research and Development Administration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy Research And Development Administration Governmental nuclear organizations Nuclear history of the United States Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States Defunct independent agencies of the United States government Government agencies established in 1974 1974 establishments in the United States 1977 disestablishments United States Atomic Energy Commission United States Department of Energy Energy research