Japan's ERATO and PRESTO Basic Research Programs

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Japan's ERATO and PRESTO Basic Research Programs Japanese Technology Evaluation Center JTEC JTEC Panel Report on Japan’s ERATO and PRESTO Basic Research Programs George Gamota (Panel Chair) William E. Bentley Rita R. Colwell Paul J. Herer David Kahaner Tamami Kusuda Jay Lee John M. Rowell Leo Young September 1996 International Technology Research Institute R.D. Shelton, Director Geoffrey M. Holdridge, WTEC Director Loyola College in Maryland 4501 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21210-2699 JTEC PANEL ON JAPAN’S ERATO AND PRESTO PROGRAMS Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce of the United States Government George Gamota (Panel Chair) David K. Kahaner Science & Technology Management Associates Asian Technology Information Program 17 Solomon Pierce Road 6 15 21 Roppongi, Harks Roppongi Bldg. 1F Lexington, MA 02173 Minato ku, Tokyo 106 Japan William E. Bentley Tamami Kusuda University of Maryland 5000 Battery Ln., Apt. #506 Dept. of Chemical Engineering Bethesda, MD 20814 College Park, MD 20742 Jay Lee Rita R. Colwell National Science Foundation University of Maryland 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 585 Biotechnology Institute Arlington, VA 22230 College Park, MD 20740 John Rowell Paul J. Herer 102 Exeter Dr. National Science Foundation Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 505 Arlington, VA 22230 Leo Young 6407 Maiden Lane Bethesda, MD 20817 INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE WTEC PROGRAM The World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) at Loyola College (previously known as the Japanese Technology Evaluation Center, JTEC) provides assessments of foreign research and development in selected technologies under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Loyola's International Technology Research Institute (ITRI), R.D. Shelton Director, is the umbrella organization for WTEC. Paul Herer, Senior Advisor for Planning and Technology Evaluation at NSF's Engineering Directorate, is NSF Program Director for WTEC. Other U.S. government agencies that provide support for the program include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense. WTEC's mission is to inform U.S. policy makers, strategic planners, and managers of the state of selected technologies in foreign countries in comparison to the United States. WTEC assessments cover basic research, advanced development, applications, and commercialization. Small panels of about six technical experts conduct WTEC assessments. Panelists are leading authorities in their field, technically active, and knowledgeable about U.S. and foreign research programs. As part of the assessment process, panels visit and carry out extensive discussions with foreign scientists and engineers in universities and in industry and government labs. The ITRI staff at Loyola College helps select topics, recruits expert panelists, arranges study visits to foreign laboratories, organizes workshop presentations, and finally, edits and disseminates the final reports. Dr. R.D. Shelton Mr. Geoff Holdridge Dr. George Gamota Principal Investigator WTEC Director Co-Principal Investigator Loyola College Loyola College 17 Solomon Pierce Road Baltimore, MD 21210 Baltimore, MD 21210 Lexington, MA 02173 JTEC Panel on JAPAN’S ERATO AND PRESTO BASIC RESEARCH PROGRAMS FINAL REPORT September 1996 George Gamota (Panel Chair) William E. Bentley Rita R. Colwell Paul J. Herer David Kahaner Tamami Kusuda Jay Lee John M. Rowell Leo Young ISBN 1-883712-42-4 This document was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Commerce of the United States Government under NSF Cooperative Agreement ENG-9416970, awarded to the International Technology Research Institute at Loyola College in Maryland. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government, the authors' parent institutions, or Loyola College. ABSTRACT This report is a review of two basic research programs funded by the Research Development Corporation of Japan (JRDC). The primary focus of the report is on the Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) program, as an update of a 1988 JTEC report on the same subject. The current panel found that the ERATO program has been quite successful as a catalyst for changing the Japanese system of supporting and performing research, and that research performed under ERATO is of high quality, with several projects leading to the development of world-class research. At least in one case, an ERATO project created a new scientific field. The panel also concluded that the ERATO process has unique characteristics that can be applied in the United States, particularly in encouraging the development of closer ties between academic, national laboratory, and industrial researchers. The report also briefly reviews a newer JRDC program entitled Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO). Its process and mode of funding are more like traditional U.S. procedures than is the case with ERATO, although its objective is more focused and designed to help researchers embark upon new lines of work. The panel found that, while PRESTO is too new to be fully evaluated, early indications suggest good results. Information sources for this study included a literature review, visits to JRDC-funded laboratories, and interviews with numerous past and present ERATO and PRESTO researchers. International Technology Research Institute (ITRI) World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) R.D. Shelton, Principal Investigator, ITRI Director Geoffrey M. Holdridge, WTEC Director Bobby A. Williams, Deputy Director Catrina M. Foley, Administrative Assistant Aminah Batta, Editorial Assistant Roan E. Horning, Professional Assistant Judith M. Dobler, Editor David Kahaner, ATIP: Japan Trip Advance Work Copyright 1996 by Loyola College in Maryland. The U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to exercise all exclusive rights provided by copyright. The ISBN number for this report is 1-883712-42-4. This report is distributed by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce as NTIS report # PB96-199591. A list of available JTEC/WTEC reports and information on ordering them from NTIS is included on the inside back cover of this report. i FOREWORD The National Science Foundation (NSF) has been involved in funding technology assessments comparing the United States and foreign countries since 1983. A sizable proportion of this activity has been in the Japanese Technology Evaluation Center (JTEC) and World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) programs. NSF has supported more than thirty JTEC and WTEC studies over a wide range of technical topics. As U.S. technological leadership is challenged in areas of previous dominance such as aeronautics, space, and nuclear power, many governmental and private organizations seek to set policies that will help maintain U.S. strengths. To do this effectively requires an understanding of the relative position of the United States and its competitors. The purpose of the JTEC/WTEC program is to assess research and development efforts in other countries in specific areas of technology, to compare these efforts and their results to U.S. research in the same areas, and to identify opportunities for international collaboration in precompetitive research. Many U.S. organizations support substantial data gathering and analysis efforts directed at nations such as Japan. But often the results of these studies are not widely available. At the same time, government and privately sponsored studies that are in the public domain tend to be "input" studies; that is, they provide enumeration of inputs to the research and development process, such as monetary expenditures, personnel data, and facilities, but do not provide an assessment of the quality or quantity of the outputs obtained. Studies of the outputs of the research and development process are more difficult to perform because they require a subjective analysis performed by individuals who are experts in the relevant technical fields. The NSF staff includes professionals with expertise in a wide range of disciplines. These individuals provide the technical expertise needed to assemble panels of experts that can perform competent, unbiased, technical reviews of research and development activities. Specific technologies, such as telecommunications, biotechnology, microelectro- mechanical systems, and advanced materials, are selected for study by government agencies that have an interest in obtaining the results of an assessment and are able to contribute to its funding. A typical assessment is sponsored by two to four agencies. In the first few years of the program, most of the studies focused on Japan, reflecting concern over Japan's growing economic prowess. Studies were largely defined by a few federal mission agencies that contributed most of the funding, such as the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy. ii The early JTEC methodology involved assembling a team of U.S. experts (usually six people from universities, industry, and government), reviewing the extant literature, and writing a final report. Within a few years, the program began to evolve. First we added site visits. Panels traveled to Japan for a week and visited twenty to thirty industrial and research sites. Then, as interest in Japan increased, a
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