Check out "As We May Think", a legendary essay by Dr. Vannevar Bush in 1945. Bush was the Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development and "coordinated the activities of some six thousand leading American scientists in the application of science to warfare".

The topic of his essay was: what should scientists do for the benefit of society now that the war is over?

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-ma...