. "6 What Actions Should America Take in Science and Engineering Research to Remain Prosperous in the 21st Century?." Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2007.
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Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future
Source
Report
Recommendation
Council on Competitiveness
Innovate America, 2004
Allocate at least 3% of the total DOD budget for defense science and technology; direct at least 20% of that amount to long-term, basic research; intensify support for the physical sciences and engineering
National Science Board
Fulfilling the Promise: AReport to Congress on theBudgetary and Programmatic Expansion of theNational Science Foundation, NSB 2004-15
Fund NSF annually at $18.7 billion, including about $12.5 billion for R&D
NOTES: NSF, National Science Foundation; DOD, Department of Defense; NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology; DOE, Department of Energy.
Prepare students in American colleges and universities to become leaders who can extend the frontiers of knowledge and apply new concepts.
Attract the brightest young students both domestically and internationally.12
ACTION B-2: EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS
The federal government should establish a program to provide 200new research grants each year at $500,000 each, payable over 5 years, tosupport the work of outstanding early-career researchers. The grants wouldbe funded by federal agencies (NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]) to underwrite new researchopportunities at universities and government laboratories.
About 50,000 people hold postdoctoral appointments in the United States.13 Those early-career researchers are particularly important because they often are the forefront innovators. A report in the journal Science states
12
NAS/NAE/IOM. Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for aNew Era. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993.
13
National Science Foundation. “WebCASPAR, Integrated Science and Engineering Data System.” Available at: http://www.casper.nsf.gov.
