National Science Board Releases “Science and Engineering Indicators” Report
Last month, the National Science Board released a massive report on the state of science and engineering in the United States and abroad. “Science and Engineering Indicators 2000,” the latest version of a document produced biennially by the National Science Foundation, presents analysis and thousands of statistics on the conduct of science and engineering research. With Congress in recess until early September, FYI will summarize, in coming weeks, some of the data in this report of special interest to the physics community.
The report, for the first time, has been issued in two volumes. Volume 1 is more than 400 pages long, and contains the following nine chapters: “Science and Technology in Times of Transition: the 1940s and 1990s,” “U.S. and International Research and Development: Funds and Alliances,” “Science and Engineering Workforce,” “Higher Education in Science and Engineering,” “Elementary and Secondary Education,” “Academic Research and Development: Financial and Personnel Resources, Support for Graduate Education, and Outputs,” “Industry, Technology, and the Global Marketplace,” “Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding,” and “Significance of Information Technologies.” Volume 2 is an appendix of 603 pages consisting of statistical charts on many different topics.
The report was released at a briefing at the National Press Club by three members of the National Science Board. Claudia I. Mitchell-Kernan commented that this is the 14th report in this biennial series. All nine chapters were reviewed in regular meetings by a subcommittee of the Board, dozens of external experts, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget. John A. Armstrong, who is also chair of the American Institute of Physics Governing Board, described industry’s R&D efforts as being predominantly applied research, and explained that it was “amazingly difficult” to obtain some of the data in the report. Robert C. Richardson said that the report is a tool for policymakers that will allow them to make their own interpretations, and later explained the “profound effect” of information technology. Mitchell-Kernan then described some of the report’s findings regarding public attitudes and understanding of science, and the disparity between high levels of interest in science but low knowledge levels about it. Most respondents describe themselves as poorly informed, even though 9 out of 10 are very interested in science. There is Mitchell-Kernan said, an upward trend in the public’s respect for science.
The report begins with a poignant statement in the acknowledgments: “With this report the National Science Board recognizes one of the most faithful readers, supporters, and critics of science and engineering, Congressman George E. Brown, Jr. who died in 1999. Congressman Brown was a friend of science and an extraordinary leader whose distinguished career in public service for three decades as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives enlightened science and technology policy.” The Board also expressed its appreciation to the staff of the National Science Foundation, whose Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences had the organizational responsibility for the production of the report.
The two volumes of “Science and Engineering Indicators 2000" can be viewed at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm The set can be purchased from the Government Printing Office for $67.00 ($83.75 non-U.S.) The GPO stock number is 638-000-00001-6. A CD of the contents of the two volumes is included in the GPO hard copy reports.
