During his naval career, Dr. Pollard made significant contributions to the following: the high-altitude balloon flight series known as STRATOLAB, which set a world altitude record of nearly 114,000 feet using life support systems and medical monitoring provided by the Navy; the selection of the three Navy and one Marine Corps Mercury astronauts of the original seven and their training in meeting the stresses of space flight; the space flight experiments, in cooperation with the Army, of squirrel monkeys Old Reliable, Able and Baker; the national effort in bioastronautics as it progressed in the 1960's by providing Navy scientists' technology and facilities to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and serving as the Navy's member on various committees of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council. He was for several years the Director, Astronautical Medicine Division for the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.