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Washington, D.C., is abuzz work, link between 45% and 75% of eco-with new policy initiatives nomic growth to technology innovation. and talk about increasing And alarming reports have been circulat-funding for basic scientific research— ing for years, including the Hart-Rudman especially in long-neglected areas like Report of 2001, the PCAST (President’s the physical sciences and engineering. Council of Advisors on Science and

Research funding policy
needs scientific and
statistical grounding

This change comes on the heels of a Technology) Report of 2002, numerous
multiyear effort by organizations like ASTRA (Alliance for Science and Tech-
SPIE (Bellingham, WA) to educate elect- nology Research in America) reports, and
ed officials about the importance of in- many other studies and commissions.
vesting in basic or fundamental research. Some observers argue that our research
Recent studies such as the National funding policies only respond to chal-
Academies’ Gathering Storm Report de- lenges (or villains) such as Sputnik, the
pict a nation facing massive challenges Cold War, or “Japan Inc.,” which seem to
in producing scientific talent to meet go away once “market forces” come into
our economic needs while addressing play. But the current predicament is obvi-
the imminent erosion of our standard of ously broader and more problematic.
living (see www.laserfocusworld.com/ Only a handful of scientists actually
articles/245135 and www.laserfocusworld. hold elective office in the U.S. Congress.
com/articles/248119). ¹ Washington is now Consequently, the vast majority of those
pondering both our savvy international who determine the funding for scientific
competition and what appears to be our research and discovery have little or no
demographic “destiny”: the bulk of cur- experiential basis for understanding the
rent U.S. scientific and engineering talent complex processes of science itself. And
will soon retire with relatively few U.S.- that is also where the biggest disconnect
born replacements, even in sensitive areas arises between what the economy seems
such as military research. to need and the flow of taxpayer invest-
In most scientific disciplines, the ment. Most policymakers speak of R&D
United States has become totally depen- as if research and development were syn-
dent upon the matriculation of foreign onymous, rather than opposite ends of a
talent in U.S. higher-learning institutions. technological continuum.
But that’s actually the good news. The bad
news is that the U.S. can no longer rely Research vs. development
on such individuals staying in the U.S. to According to the traditional model, basic
pursue careers. Newly emergent econo- research yields randomly generated sci-
mies are luring many to opportunities in entific information and intelligence about
their native lands. By 2010, at least 90% of phenomena. These may not be thoroughly
the planet’s scientists and engineers will understood at first. But through intensive
reside outside the U.S. study—and a bit of inspiration—they can
None of this should come as a surprise. lead to discovery, proof of concept, ap-
At least 11 well-researched studies, includ- plied research, and ultimately to commer-
ing Solow’s 1957 Nobel Prize–winning cialization of new products and services
with their own ensuing life cycles.

ROBERT BOEGE is the Washington, D.C., rep- _{Traditionally, the federal government} resentative for the International Society for

Optical Engineering (SPIE) and the executive has funded about 60% of all basic or director for the Alliance for Science and Tech- fundamental scientific research in the nology Research in America, 1155 16th St. NW, _{Othmer-318, Washington, D.C. 20036; e-mail: U.S. Universities and foundations fund a} r_boege@acs.org. smaller amount, and industry hardly any.