Sustaining America's Competitive Edge
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-Near Final Draft- Sustaining America’s Competitive Edge Enhancing Innovation and Competitiveness Through Investments in Fundamental Research Report from a Workshop Sponsored by: National Science Foundation National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering National Institute of Standards and Technology -1- -Table of Contents- Workshop Participants page 3 Executive Summary 5 Background and Rationale for Workshop 7 Summary of Workshop Proceedings 10 Principal Observations, Conclusions and Recommendations 20 Workshop Agenda 32 -2- -Workshop Participants- WORKSHOP CO-CHAIR WORKSHOP CO-CHAIR Dr. Joseph A. Miller Dr. Mark S. Wrighton Executive Vice President and Chancellor Chief Technology Officer Washington University in St. Louis Corning Incorporated PARTICIPANTS Professor Samuel I. Achilefu Dr. Melvin Koch Department of Radiology Director, Center for Process Analytical Chemistry Washington University in St. Louis University of Washington Dr. Craig A. Blue Deputy Division Director of Technology Dr. Yakov Kutsovsky Materials Science and Technology Division Vice President and Global R&D Director Oak Ridge National Laboratory Cabot Corporation Dr. Susan B. Butts Mr. Greg Leeming Senior Director of External Science Program Manager and Technology Programs Focus Center Research Program The Dow Chemical Company External Program Group Technology and Manufacturing Division Dr. Gary S. Calabrese Intel Corporation Chief Technology Officer and Vice President Rohm and Haas Dr. John M. Leonard Vice President Professor Charles P. Casey Global Pharmaceutical Research & Development Department of Chemistry Abbott Laboratories University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Charles McWherter Dr. William E. Clarke Vice President, Cardiovascular Research Executive Vice President and Pfizer Global Research and Development Chief Technology and Medical Officer GE Healthcare Professor Chad A. Mirkin Director of International Institute Dr. Larry R. Faulkner for Nanotechnology Former President of the University of Texas Chemistry Department President, Houston Endowment Inc. Northwestern University Dr. Catherine (Katie) Hunt Professor Daniel G. Nocera President-Elect, American Chemical Society W. M. Keck Professor of Energy Leader, Technology Partnerships Department of Chemistry Rohm and Haas Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dr. Ganesh (Kish) Kishore Mr. Thondiyil (Prem) Premkumar Vice President of Technology Global Manager of Industry Analysis DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition ExxonMobil Corporation DuPont Corporation Dr. Krishnan K. Sankaran -3- Senior Technical Fellow Materials & Processes Technology Phantom Works The Boeing Company Professor Lynn Schneemeyer Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Chemistry Rutgers University Mr. Edward T. Shonsey Chief Executive Officer Diversa Corporation Professor Winston (Wole) O. Soboyejo Princeton Institute for the Science Dr. Darlene J.S. Solomon & Technology of Materials Agilent Chief Technology Officer and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Vice President Agilent Laboratories Princeton University Agilent Technologies Dean Matthew Tirrell College of Engineering Richard A. Auhll Professor SPONSOR REPRESENTATIVES University of California, Santa Barbara Dr. Kelsey D. Cook Program Officer Analytical and Surface Chemistry National Science Foundation Dr. Albert Lee Commerce Science and Technology Fellow Dr. James R. Whetstone National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Chief, Process Measurements Division Bioengineering National Institute of Standards and National Institutes of Health Technology INVITED GUESTS Dr. Donald B. Anthony President and Executive Director Council for Chemical Research Dr. Robert M. Berdahl President Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Association of American Universities Vice Chancellor for Research Washington University in St. Louis Dr. Brian K. Fitzgerald Executive Director Dr. John C. Vaughn The Business-Higher Education Forum Executive Vice President Association of American Universities Dr. W. Christopher Hollinsed Director, The Petroleum Research Fund Ms. Cynthia S. White American Chemical Society Director, Research Office Washington University in St. Louis -4- -Executive Summary- Workshop Organization and Purpose A two and a half-day workshop was held in Arlington, Virginia, December 3-5, 2006, focusing on where larger investments in fundamental research would likely yield the best return in enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. science- and technology-based industries. The workshop was a highly participatory meeting with about two thirds of the ~30-person group holding leadership positions in some of the most competitive science- and technology-based companies in the U.S. Other participants included representatives of some of America’s most important research universities. Sponsored by NSF, NIST, and NIBIB, the workshop was conceived to focus on areas where U.S. industry currently holds a competitive position, including chemistry, materials, pharmaceuticals, plant science, and biological imaging. Knowing of the several calls for enhanced federal investment in research in the physical sciences and engineering, especially, the workshop was convened with the purpose of adding specificity to areas of investment that would be most important to key U.S. industries such as the chemical industry, which flows almost half a trillion dollars of products through the U.S. economy and employs directly or indirectly about 4% of the U.S. workforce. The central questions addressed by the workshop are: where are the fundamental knowledge gaps in key areas of technological importance, what human resource challenges exist, and what would be the most rewarding new investments in the federal research enterprise to address the most challenging scientific and technological issues and to realize the most promising new opportunities. Relationships between academic institutions and industry were also highlighted in the discussions, including issues related to technology transfer and intellectual property. The workshop was conducted in a series of discussion-oriented plenary sessions, addressing areas such as materials and nanotechnology; biological imaging; biological chemistry and new pharmaceuticals; challenges and opportunities in chemistry; and plant science and its applications. Every invited participant from industry and academia had a speaking or leadership role, and time devoted to discussion was a significant fraction of each session. Guests from the sponsoring organizations were included in the discussion sessions, and Dr. Arden Bement, Director of NSF, addressed the workshop attendees regarding his view of critical issues affecting the U.S. research enterprise. Workshop guests also included representatives from the Association of American Universities, the Business Higher Education Forum, the American Chemical Society, and the Council for Chemical Research. In drawing conclusions regarding how best to expand America’s lead in technological innovation, the workshop focused on the importance of talent, tools, and teamwork as the key elements of success in this endeavor. Talented people are absolutely essential to our continued strength. We are not doing enough today to draw talented people to science, engineering and mathematics. Moreover, we need to better -5- prepare such people to be both broad and deep, doers and problem-solvers as well as sources of creative new ideas. The tools for doing science at the forefront are expensive and complex. The competitive landscape reveals that we must do more infrastructurally to expand our global lead in science and technology. Better teamwork, both among talented people and among government, universities and companies is required to realize the potential from the investment in research. Talented people need to learn to work collaboratively and become effective as groups, while institutions need to embrace the common objective of expanding the U.S. leadership position we currently enjoy. Principal Observations, Conclusions and Recommendations The following observations, conclusions, and recommendations resulted from workshop presentations and discussions. These highlights are discussed and put in context in the text of the report. 1. The most important conclusion from the workshop is that the federal government needs to follow through on the calls for enhancing the investment in basic research in order to assure that there will be technological innovations in the future and to assure that the U.S. remains the world’s leader in such innovations. 2. Expanding the U.S. lead in innovative applications of science and technology in the future depends on a large and sustained investment today in fundamental science and engineering. 3. An enduring commitment to basic research, driven both by the quest for fundamental understanding and the global challenges we face, will be critical to expanding the U.S. lead in addressing areas such as energy, environment, individualized healthcare, feedstocks for chemicals and materials, and assuring an abundance of pure water and nutritious food. 4. Workshop participants concluded that there are opportunities for enhanced federal investment which are likely to result in an expanded technological leadership edge for the U.S. and that expanding our technological leadership position will bring important benefits to all Americans. Improving the nation’s technological lead has important economic value to the U.S., including large employment opportunities for many Americans in meaningful, high-paying jobs. 5. Special