Science and Engineering "In Transition", NSB Finds

Increasing globalization of research and development (R&D) and the prolific growth of information technology (IT) are major elements in a "science and engineering enterprise that is in transition," the National Science Board (NSB) reports in Science and Engineering Indicators 2000.

The new S&E Indicators report emphasizes a changing context for the National Science Foundation, and for science and engineering, generally. According to Science Board chair Eamon Kelly, there has been rapid worldwide growth and emphasis in science and technology, heightened by broad collaboration among nations. Recognizing the trend, the NSB devoted portions of each of the nine chapters in the new S&E Indicators to international comparisons and global patterns in science, engineering, education and technology.

The report describes growing evidence of how fundamental science has contributed to a stronger U.S. economy, and how IT has had a major impact on all facets of society. It also says that the impact is unequal within many segments of the national economy and in education, leaving these parts of American society bereft of IT's advantages, and creating the Digital Divide first identified by the Department of Commerce.

Among highlights reported in S&E Indicators 2000 are:

• Industrial R&D Performance - predominantly "development"- grew by only 0.7 percent per year in inflation-adjusted ("real") terms from 1985 through 1994. But in the five years from 1994 through 1998, the annual industry R&D growth rate climbed to 7.6 percent (Chapter 2); 
• Information technology (IT) industries generated an estimated 29 percent of the real growth in the U.S.' Gross Domestic Income in 1998 (Chapter 9); and
• The linkage between research and perceived economic benefit is "getting tighter." Patents citing at least one article that contributed materially to the process or product to be patented rose from 14 percent in 1990 to 25 percent in 1996. The overall number of article citations on existing patents increased explosively -- more than doubling in number from 1996 to 1998, and reaching 108,300 total for 1998. (Chapter 6).

Among the work force and education trends, S&E Indicators 2000 finds:

• Retirements among college-educated workers in S&E will increase dramatically over the next 10 to 15 years, especially among Ph.D. holders. Meanwhile, the expected demand for S&E workers overall is expected to greatly increase in the decade between 1998-2008. S&E occupations are projected to grow at almost four times the rate of all other occupations. (Chapter 3);
• S&E graduate school enrollments in the U.S. declined from 1993 to 1997 (an average of two percent annually) following increases throughout the previous four decades. However, demographic data shows a reversal in 2001 to a two-decade-long U.S. population decline among college-age students that may help reverse the graduate enrollment trend. (Chapter 4);
• Despite increasing percentages of high school graduates who reported taking higher level math and science courses, 22 percent of first-year college students in 1997 who indicated an intent to major in science or engineering reported that they needed some remedial work in mathematics. (Chapter 4);
• Dramatic increases have occurred among U.S. school districts to provide access for students and teachers to new forms of technology, but in a 1998 survey, only one teacher in five felt "very well prepared" to integrate technology in the subject they taught (Chapter 5).

The two-volume edition of S&E Indicators 2000 also includes for the first time a CD-ROM that provides access to the entire report and data tables in a spreadsheet format. To view the full volumes of Science and Engineering Indicators 2000, see: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind00/start.htm

For other media news releases and backgrounders, see: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/00/pr_indicators.htm