SSTI Digest

The House Committee on Science has begun a year-long study of the nation's science and technology policy in order to determine funding priorities for federal support of research. The study will be the first attempt by the House to systematically assess the nation's research and development needs since the end of the Cold War.

The Science Policy Study, commissioned by committee chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, will be headed by committee vice chairman Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI). Rep. Ehlers is a nuclear physicist and one of the few scientists in Congress.

According to the House Committee on Science, Rep. Ehlers' team will address long-range S&T policy and science and mathematics education, as well as serve as a contact with the science community. The public will be invited to submit letters and papers to the team for consideration. The team intends to hold field briefings and hearings in the spring.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) recently testified before a Congressional committee on the changing missions of the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and perceived weaknesses in the management of the labs. According to GAO, DOE's efforts to meet the requirements of Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) offer an opportunity to achieve fundamental change in the way in which the department manages the national labs.

GAO has reported previously on its concerns with the national laboratory system. The two major concerns are:

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Office of Science and Technology Infrastructure (OSTI) has announced that funds will be available for additional Science and Technology Centers (STC). NSF is currently soliciting proposals from qualified candidates for the Science and Technology Centers: Integrative Partnerships Program.

NSF established the STC Program in 1987, and charged it with pursuing university-based multidisciplinary research, encouraging knowledge transfer to non-academic sectors of society, and establishing innovative education activities.

Sixty young researchers have been selected for the second annual Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their careers.

The awards recognize young scholars, their research contributions, their promise, and their commitment to broader societal goals.

In all, 10 government agencies join together annually to nominate promising scientists and engineers for the awards. Those selected receive up to $500,000 over a five-year period to further their research and broadly advance science for important government missions.

The supporting federal agencies are: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is having a significant impact in accelerating the pace of technology development, according to a new study of 28 early ATP award winners.

Half of the companies surveyed (14 out of 28) estimated that participation in the ATP reduced their technology development cycle by 50 percent, typically reducing a six-year process to three years. The majority (27 out of 28, or 96 percent) estimated that ATP participation reduced the cycle time anywhere from 30 to 66 percent.

Accelerated technology development translates to dollars and cents according to the companies studied, with estimates of the economic impact of reducing cycle time ranging from one million to several billions of dollars for a single year of time saved.

A coalition of science, engineering, and mathematics organizations endorsed a statement calling for a doubling of research funding over the next ten years. In total, 106 organizations offered their support of a "Unified Statement on Research" at a Capitol Hill Press Conference on October 22.

The announcement is in response to a downward trend in federal science and engineering research investments. According to congressional reports, 5.7 percent of the federal budget in 1965 was spent on non-defense research and development. By 1997 that figure has dropped to 1.9 percent.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has released a new study entitled Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. This assessment of the Massachusetts economy provides data on 33 quantitative indicators.

The Index includes indicators such as industry clusters, pay per worker, manufacturing exports, education levels, R&D expenditures, Internet connectivity, and the number of patents, SBIR awards, and IPOs. The report establishes a baseline which will enable MTC to monitor, over time and in comparison to other states, Massachusetts progress in leveraging the state's resources through innovation to create quality jobs, productivity and rising incomes.

Two manufacturers - one for a second time - and two service firms have received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for their achievements in quality and business performance. The 1997 awards, announced by the Department of Commerce on October 15, went to 3M Dental Products Division, St. Paul, MN (manufacturing); Solectron Corp., Milpitas, CA (manufacturing); Merrill Lynch Credit Corp., Jacksonville, FL (service); and Xerox Business Services, Rochester, NY (service). Solectron Corp. also won the award in the manufacturing category in 1991.

Further information on the 1997 award winners and the award itself is available on the World Wide Web at www.quality.nist.gov.