KEEPING U.S. R&D IN FIRST PLACE

Abstract

TO MAINTAIN global leadership in innovation and technology, the U.S. needs to take a hard look at its national policies on science and engineering research, according to the National Science Board (NSB). The board recommends that the National Science Foundation review its proposal criteria for basic research, that the President’s Office of Science & Technology Policy get federal science agencies to reassess their research portfolios, and that a new national committee be created to respond to international science and engineering competition. The recommendations follow publication of the board’s “Science & Engineering Indicators” 2010 report, the biannual compilation of U.S. and world data on science, engineering, and education (C&EN, Feb. 8, page 44). This year’s report, which came out in January, shows that the U.S. is beginning to lose it technological lead in many areas to other nations, such as India and China. The board’s concern for the U.S.’s economic and competitive future prompted it ...