Will the US lose its lead in research?
01/01/2004
Basic research in the United States has long been the envy of the rest of the world. Aside from the leadership in Nobel prizes, there has been a steady stream of fundamental developments that spawned entire industries, such as television, semiconductors, computers, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, optics (lasers and optical communications), and many more. The fruits of US research and development have been so richly rewarding that many economic competitors have concentrated on commercial application of the results rather than sponsoring much basic research of their own.
Now there is growing concern that the US is losing its edge in basic R&D. Government funding of basic research has eroded as more funds go into military-oriented programs, such as missile defense. Industry has cut research budgets as well because of shrinking margins due to global competition, and recently, soft world economies. Meanwhile, universities have expanded their links to industry and commercial interests to boost their budgets as federal funds get scarcer, while cutting back on more fundamental R&D.
For many years, exchange students from regions such as Asia and Europe have dominated PhD programs, under which much basic university research is performed. While some of these PhDs remained in the US, more of them have been returning to their native countries recently as high-tech industries move operations overseas. The semiconductor industries in Korea and Taiwan were built over the past couple of decades with help from engineers and scientists who returned from the US after getting technical degrees and working for companies such as IBM or Texas Instruments. Now, because of homeland security concerns, the number of graduate students from overseas is declining. China and India are now reported to have more graduates of university technology programs than the US. Fewer Americans are getting advanced degrees in technology and science, partly due to a lack of interest by US youngsters and to the fast-rising costs of a university education.
Bell Labs under AT&T was once a fountain of scientific discoveries and new technologies, from semiconductors to plasma process tools in our industry. Deregulation and commercial pressures forced AT&T to break its monopoly into pieces, and the focus of Bell Labs shifted to product-targeted development rather than the fundamental research of the past. The same has happened at IBM, GE, and a couple of decades ago at RCA, which once ran one of the top research laboratories in the world. RCA Laboratories, a once-proud institution where Vladimir Zworykin built the first TV iconoscope pick-up tube and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology was developed, was finally sold by GE.
Funding from the National Institutes of Health as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF) fostered the biotechnology industry, now emerging as a potential powerhouse. While spending on health research has been doing well in recent years, NSF has not done so well as more government research dollars have gone to the military; this means fewer grants for graduate students in science and technology as well as less support for basic research projects.
It is troubling that there seems to be little concern for the decline of R&D by the public or policymakers. Most executives are more concerned with satisfying Wall Street's demands for meeting quarterly financial targets than they are with building a strong research base that will allow their companies, and their industries, to grow in future decades. Top government officials are much more involved with defenses against terrorism and potential missile threats than they are with building a vibrant, innovative research base to ensure economic strength in the future.
The public is beginning to grasp the potential for decline if the US slips in its technological leadership. There is growing concern about software development going to India and chipmaking going to Asia as thousands of technical specialists are unable to find jobs in the US. Once-vibrant technology companies have lost their ability to compete with other areas of the world that also have highly educated, highly skilled workforces. A few years ago there was great concern that there was not nearly enough education of technical specialists for chipmaking and process development. Now, after hefty layoffs of skilled people throughout the semiconductor and process tool industries, many of them have moved to other fields where there is less turmoil.
The economic future of the US depends upon innovation in semiconductors, computer design, software, biotechnology, and other growth areas. This should be a matter of public debate and also a great concern to policymakers as they set budgeting priorities for R&D and the support of science and technology education.
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Robert Haavind
Editor in Chief