SSTI Digest

A recent study found that students are performing at higher levels in mathematics and are taking more higher-level math and science courses in the majority of the 40 states that participated in a recent study of U.S. mathematics and science education.

The findings come from State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education, 1997. This study, the fourth in a biennial series on the condition of K-12 science and math education, was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and prepared by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) with cooperation from the state departments of education and the National Center for Education Statistics.

The CCSSO study focused on student achievement in mathematics and science, mathematics and science content and instruction, and teacher preparation, supply, and conditions. Major findings include:

Industry associations are expressing concern that the diversion of user fees from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is adversely affecting the speed of innovation. The PTO receives no taxpayer dollars and is supported entirely by user fees; however, for the last several years, most of those user fees have gone to the government's general fund to help balance the budget rather than to support PTO operations.

Under the Clinton Administration's 1999 budget proposal, $119 million in user fees would go to the general fund. This amount is up from $92 million in FY1998 and $54 million in FY1997.

Several professional associations and trade groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, have argued that if PTO were able to retain more or all of its user fees the PTO would be able to cut its backlog of pending patent applications and speed the process of bringing new products to market.

Joel B. Russ was recently named the new president of the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF). Prior to accepting this position, Russ served as the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Portland Region, as well as serving as a member of the MSTF's Board of Directors. MSTF is a state-chartered, non-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate science and technology-driven economic growth in Maine.

Dr. Jack Gibbons, the President's science advisor and the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced late last week that he will resign effective March 15. Dr. Neal Lane, the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), has been nominated by President Clinton to replace Gibbons. Replacing Lane at NSF will be Dr. Rita Colwell, the president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Colwell was nominated earlier this year to become deputy director of NSF. Indications are that Dr. Joseph Bordogna, who has been acting deputy director, will continue in that capacity for the near term.

Lane has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Oklahoma. He has been the director of NSF since 1993. Prior to that, he served in a variety of academic positions at Rice University and the University of Colorado.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge recently announced the release of The Technology 21 Report — The Keystone Spirit: Putting Technology to Work. Commissioned by Ridge and the Ben Franklin/IRC Partnership Board, the Technology 21 initiative is an industry-led project that will implement a comprehensive technology policy for Pennsylvania.

The Tech 21 report calls for:

The Washington Technology Center (WTC) is seeking an Executive Director. WTC is the state of Washington's enterprise for joint industry-university technology development partnerships. The Center supports technologies for industry application for Washington companies in the areas of advanced materials and manufacturing, biotechnology/biomedical devices, computer systems and microelectronics.

The Executive Director has overall management and administrative responsibility for four research areas/programs and a ten person staff. The Executive Director serves as the primary WTC representative with industry, university and government leadership, responsible for long range planning, major facilities planning, development and implementation of WTC policies and procedures.

On Monday, the Clinton Administration released its detailed budget proposal for FY99 that requests a 2.57% increase in research and development funding. The FY99 budget proposal calls for increasing spending on R&D to roughly $78.16 billion, up $1.96 billion from FY98.

The centerpiece of the President's R&D proposal is the 21st Century Research Fund for America. The $31 billion Fund provides for increases in most of the federal government's civilian research programs, which will grow at an overall rate of 8% in FY99, and climb by 32% over the next five years.

The following is an overview of the Clinton Administration's proposed spending for programs of interest to the science and technology community.

Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The Clinton Administration has announced initiatives to finance computer training and retraining programs to meet the dramatically increasing demand for Information Technology (IT) workers. The announcement occurred at the National Information Technology Workforce Convocation, an event to facilitate broad-based solutions to the worker shortage.

The announcement came on the same day that a new study was released by the Information Technology Association of American (ITAA) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The study found extensive IT worker shortages exist throughout the United States. Approximately 346,000 IT positions -- or 10% of the total IT workforce -- are currently unfilled.

In addition, U.S. Labor Department projections show that the demand for computer scientists, systems analysts and programmers will double over the next 10 years, with 1.3 million new workers needed to fill high-tech, high-wage jobs.

The United States could be on the verge of a major resurgence in the funding of research and development (R&D), according to the annual forecast by Battelle Memorial Institute and R&D Magazine. R&D spending in 1998 is expected to reach more than $215 billion, a 4.66 percent increase over the $206 billion that the National Science Foundation estimates was spent in 1997. The prediction comes after years of stagnation in R&D spending.

Predictions for 1998 include:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) has launched a new Internet website entitled the ATP Alliance Network. The website is designed to aid organizations interested in applying for an ATP Joint Venture award.

Joint R&D ventures are potentially a powerful tool for attacking difficult research tasks. By collaborating, companies can share the costs and risks associated with long-term, high-risk R&D, and so reduce the burden to each individual firm.

Topics on the ATP Alliance Network include:

Dr. Rita R. Colwell, the current President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a former member of the National Science Board, has been nominated by President Clinton to serve as the next deputy director of the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Walter Plosila has joined Battelle Memorial Institute as Vice President, Public Technology Management. He served most recently as the executive director of the North Carolina Alliance for Competitive Technologies (NC ACTs).

Joseph Magno, the executive director of the New York State Science and Technology Foundation, has resigned his position. He has accepted a position with the State University of New York Research Foundation.

Dr. Rita R. Colwell, the current President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a former member of the National Science Board, has been nominated by President Clinton to serve as the next deputy director of the National Science Foundation.