SSTI Digest

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health is seeking input as it updates its 1994 strategic plan, NCRR: A Catalyst for Discovery. The plan is designed to anticipate, meet, and set priorities for the biomedical research community's critical resource and technology needs. The center is requesting comments to help it identify barriers to research progress and define future needs for shared research resources and technologies. Specific questions NCRR is interested in receiving input on include: What are the most important research trends that will drive biomedical research? What research resources and technologies will be critical in addressing these trends? What strategies will eliminate barriers to progress and enhance access to research resources and technologies? Who should serve on the panel for the strategic planning process? NCRR's mission is to strengthen the nation's biomedical research infrastructure and is charged with creating and providing critical research technologies and shared resources. NCRR plays a key…

Calls for an end to "corporate welfare" increased this week with an unusual coalition unveiling a list of targeted programs and nine senators calling for a commission to review federal subsidies to companies. A coalition of liberal and conservative organizations has agreed to a list of twelve federal programs, including three technology-related programs, that should be terminated or modified because they are "corporate welfare." Members of the Stop Corporate Welfare Coalition include the National Taxpayers Union, Friends of the Earth, and Ralph Nader's Public Citizen. The Coalition has worked with Rep. John Kasich (R-OH), chairman of the House Budget Committee, to identify target programs. Among the programs targeted for elimination are three conducted through the Department of Energy: research on clean coal technology; fossil energy research; and, a pyroprocessing program that reprocesses spent nuclear fuel. "The groups on the right would not allow tax breaks to be eliminated, and environmental groups allowed only programs that harm the environment to be included on the…

The final appropriation for federal science and technology (FS&T) for FY 1997 is $43.4 billion, a slight increase (0.7 percent) over the FY 1996 appropriation, according to a new report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The budget is 5.0 percent less than it was in FY 1994, and would be 9.7 percent less than in FY 1994 if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was not included. Overall, only two of ten major science and technology agencies and departments, the National Science Foundation and HHS, have more FS&T funding in FY 1997 than they had in FY 1994. NAS considers that "part of the federal R&D budget that is devoted each year to expanding fundamental knowledge and creating new technologies" as the FS&T budget. It does not include, for example, the part of federal R&D devoted to the production engineering, testing and evaluation, and upgrading of large weapons and related systems. FS&T appropriations by agency for FY 1997 is: HHS $12,998,000,000…

Women and minorities continue to take fewer high-level mathematics and science courses in high school; earn fewer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in science and engineering (S&E); and remain less likely to be employed in S&E jobs than white males. Those are the conclusions of a new government report, Women, Minorities and Persons With Disabilities in Science and Engineering 1996. The National Science Foundation (NSF) report reveals progress as well as signs of continued underrepresentation. Among the report's findings: Minorities (except Asians) remain a small proportion of U.S. scientists and engineers. African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans as a group were 23 percent of the U.S. population, but 6 percent of the S&E labor force in 1993. Among 1994 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) takers, fewer women (13 percent) than men (31 percent) intended to pursue natural science, mathematics, or engineering fields. Yet, women's grades among first-year college students planning S&E majors are higher than men's. A substantial gap in mean salary…

The new Guide to NIST, a one-stop information resource on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is now available. The 164-page volume describes hundreds of different research projects, grants, industry outreach programs, services and facilities. The publication updates a 1993 edition. Requests for the guide can be faxed to 301/926-1630. An electronic version will be available online later this year on the NIST home page at http://www.nist.gov

The National Governors' Association (NGA), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce are holding two more regional meetings to get input from state officials and others on the direction of the U.S. Innovation Partnership (USIP). USIP is a state/federal effort to leverage science, technology, and engineering resources to achieve new economic growth, high quality jobs, and globally competitive businesses. The meetings will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 13-14, 1997 and in Kansas City, Missouri on January 23-24, 1997. For more information, contact Tom Unruh at NGA, 202/624-7833 or tunruh@nga.org

During the past decade, the European Union (EU) invested heavily in civilian R&D by building first-class laboratories and expanding higher education in science and engineering. Its efforts, according to the Data Brief for a new National Science Foundation report, Human Resources for Science and Technology: The European Region, are narrowing the lead the U.S. holds in R&D. For example: Western European countries invested a total of $103.5 billion in all types of R&D in 1993, compared to $137.3 billion in the United States. The amount spent on research performed at academic institutions in Western Europe -- approximately $20 billion in 1992 -- equals that spent at U.S. universities and colleges. The report also found that over the 17 year period examined in the report, Western and Central European countries nearly doubled their annual production of university degrees in the natural sciences and engineering (NS&E). In 1992, Europe produced almost 300,000 NS&E degrees (including more than 25,000 doctoral degrees), compared to 173,000 degrees (18,000…

Department of Defense figures show there is approximately 35 percent excess capacity in its laboratory infrastructure, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report. The finding comes in a GAO long term study of the Department of Defense's progress in reducing infrastructure costs to offset increases in spending for readiness and weapons modernization. As part of that study, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) infrastructure and, in the fall of 1996, conducted briefings on the results. A summary of those briefings has been released as a GAO report, Defense Acquisition Infrastructure: Changes in RDT&E Laboratories and Centers. According to GAO, there are 55 military service research, development, engineering, test, and evaluation laboratories and centers world wide. Efforts to reduce the capacity have focused on management and operating changes. GAO suggests that DOD must do more in terms of RDT&E consolidations and reductions. The report also indicates that GAO is reviewing laboratory reductions…

In a continuing effort to improve the services the State Science and Technology Institute provides to its users, SSTI has made changes to its World Wide Web home page and the SSTI Weekly Digest.   The home page has moved to a new site (http://www.ssti.org) and expanded its offerings. In addition to continuing to provide access to state profiles, archived FYI messages, links to SSTI sponsors and other organizations, and technical assistance provided by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the home page will now offer: The current and archived issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest A calendar of events Job postings Brief biographies of SSTI Board members In the coming weeks, watch for these additional changes on the home page: A search function that will permit easier access to the state profiles and past issues of the Digest Expanded links to government and other policy resources Meanwhile, a survey of Digest readers indicates a high level of satisfaction with the content, length, and frequency of the newsletter. Eighty percent of the respondents indicated that they had followed up on information that they had learned about…

Ohio's Edison Technology Centers generated a direct economic impact for Ohio of more than $730 million from 1992 to 1995, according to a new study prepared by Battelle Memorial Institute for the Edison Centers. The seven Edison Centers are non-profit organizations that combine state, industry and academic resources to solve industrial problems and develop new technologies. When the impacts were traced through the economy and a multiplier was applied, the total impact on the gross state product was $1.27 billion. Battelle arrived at its results by applying its proprietary econometric model of the Ohio economy to economic data collected by the Edison Centers. State funding during that time for the Edison Centers totaled approximately $70 million. Along with estimating the total economic impact of the Edison Centers, the Battelle study found that the Edison Centers have: Enhanced the financial performance and competitive position of Ohio companies by saving them an estimated $168 million Provided assistance that enabled Ohio companies to create or retain 5,600 jobs,…

The first recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers were announced earlier this week. The 60 winners will receive up to $500,000 over a five year period to further their research. "The Presidential Awards are intended to recognize some of the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the 21st century. The Awards will foster innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the nation's future," according to the National Science and Technology Council. Awards follow recommendations from the nine participating federal agencies (National Science Foundation, NASA, EPA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy,…

Criteria used by one of the largest funders of basic research to evaluate research proposals is slated to change in 1997. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is revising the criteria used to evaluate approximately 30,000 proposals per year and is seeking comments on the proposed criteria. NSF has undertaken the process to revise the criteria because "an examination...is prudent from time to time. The current criteria have not changed since 1981, and the proposed changes are intended to make the criteria clearer to the community and to bring them more in line with the 1994 NSF Strategic Plan." The current criteria ask reviewers to evaluate a proposal for: 1) research performance competence, 2) intrinsic merit of the research, 3) utility or relevance of the research, and 4) the effect on the infrastructure of science and engineering. The proposed criteria ask reviewers to determine: 1) what is the intellectual merit and quality of the proposed activity? and, 2) what are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Background and an e-mail form to comment on the changes can be…