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Jan. 9, 2004 — It has become increasingly clear that the foundations for economic growth in modern societies rest in the talent and education of its people and in the technology embedded in its manufacturing and services sectors. Lately, concerns have arisen in the United States that growth can only be sustained if innovative models of education are more widely adopted.
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Economic growth relies on the continued accumulation of knowledge. This knowledge breathes new life into age-old raw materials and turns them into stronger medicines, faster computers, cleaner environments. It is embedded in the tools and equipment that are used to produce the world’s goods and services. It has grown dramatically in the last 50 years. Today, nanotechnology offers the greatest promise for expanding the knowledge frontier at an even faster pace.
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We have enjoyed many gains through increasingly sophisticated technologies: the creation of more productive equipment, a more educated work force, and a standard of living that doubled since World War II. As the sophistication of the technology has grown, so too have the demands on the educational system. Students must be trained with the best tools and by the leading thinkers in that technology’s development.
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This is especially true in the area of nanotechnology, where state-of-the-art lab equipment is needed to make and image new materials and to understand novel processes. This requires universities and colleges to undergo costly upgrades and to fight for the brightest minds.
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A university engaged in nanoscale research will have a suite of metrology tools, including atomic force and scanning electron microscopes (AFMs and SEMs). Price tags for these: about $250,000 for the AFM and $1.2 million for a high-end SEM. This is quite a jump from the cost of an optical microscope at the end of WWII.
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The increasing depth and variety of jobs in the private sector also have conspired to push up the costs of a high-tech education. Since wages in high-tech professions have risen relative to the average U.S. salary, the increase in industry opportunities for scientists means that universities must offer more lucrative contracts to retain a leading-edge faculty.
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While universities bear the costs, the nation as a whole benefits. There are signs that government and industry recognize this imbalance and are willing to collaborate to create an educational system that meets nanotechnology’s challenges.
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Knowledge carries an extra reward to society because it can be used repeatedly at zero marginal cost. While some knowledge is retained within a single firm through patents and trade secrets, much of new technology streams into the public domain. This spillover of knowledge leads others to create new and better products that do not provide direct reward to the original innovator.
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Of course, when allocating spending to R&D, firms look only at the additional profits that this R&D is likely to create for them. They ignore the further benefits to society from the subsequent discoveries that occur outside the firm. As a result, firms will always underinvest in R&D from the public’s perspective.
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This provides a distinct role for government: improve incentives for firms to pursue R&D to push economic growth up to its efficient level. Government is able to act on behalf of national interests since it can spread the modest costs of such programs across a large number of households, and nudge up the growth rate to generate a more rapidly rising standard of living.
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By the same logic, a strong argument can be made for industry organizations to support scientific education and R&D. When the entire industry needs a particular skill set, it becomes worthwhile to support focused educational programs and to encourage more young people to pursue these degrees. No one firm, on its own, would choose to do this, since it would not be sure to receive the benefits — and indeed, it may only be helping its rival to acquire better employees! This free-rider problem demands industrywide cooperation in providing support for education and work force training.
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This calls for a new model for collaboration among government, universities, and industry, and one that involves industry more directly in the process of education. The federal government recognizes the inherent spillovers in new discoveries and has been increasing funding of nanoscale research and technology development. State governments are competing to attract high-tech R&D activities and this means building upon research universities. And industry is becoming more heavily involved at educational institutions. These are signs that the U.S. educational system is evolving to meet these new challenges.
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A case in point is the new School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering (SNN) at the University at Albany — State University of New York. The first school devoted to the nanosciences, it is paired with Albany NanoTech, the R&D and technology deployment institute at U Albany. It also benefited from the leadership and commitment of Gov. George E. Pataki through the state’s Center of Excellence program, and from industry partners such as IBM.
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The combined assets of Albany NanoTech and the SNN offer graduate students opportunities for integrating classroom knowledge into the process of technology development. Industry benefits from the collaboration and a better-prepared work force, and government gains a valuable mechanism for driving economic growth.