And where are we in this scheme of things? On Mon, 2004-05-03 at 10:13, Lisa Toro wrote: > What they stole from germans is now over and they can not figure out > their own!! > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: J Ssemakula > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, May 03, 2004 4:14 PM > Subject: ugnet_: U.S. Is Losing Its Dominance in the Sciences > > The New York Times > > ______________________________________________________________ > May 3, 2004 > U.S. Is Losing Its Dominance in the Sciences > By WILLIAM J. BROAD > > > The United States has started to lose its worldwide dominance > in critical areas of science and innovation, according to > federal and private experts who point to strong evidence like > prizes awarded to Americans and the number of papers in major > professional journals. > > Foreign advances in basic science now often rival or even > exceed America's, apparently with little public awareness of > the trend or its implications for jobs, industry, national > security or the vigor of the nation's intellectual and > cultural life. > > "The rest of the world is catching up," said John E. > Jankowski, a senior analyst at the National Science > Foundation, the federal agency that tracks science trends. > "Science excellence is no longer the domain of just the U.S." > > Even analysts worried by the trend concede that an expansion > of the world's brain trust, with new approaches, could > invigorate the fight against disease, develop new sources of > energy and wrestle with knotty environmental problems. But > profits from the breakthroughs are likely to stay overseas, > and this country will face competition for things like hiring > scientific talent and getting space to showcase its work in > top journals. > > One area of international competition involves patents. > Americans still win large numbers of them, but the percentage > is falling as foreigners, especially Asians, have become more > active and in some fields have seized the innovation lead. The > United States' share of its own industrial patents has fallen > steadily over the decades and now stands at 52 percent. > > A more concrete decline can be seen in published research. > Physical Review, a series of top physics journals, recently > tracked a reversal in which American papers, in two decades, > fell from the most to a minority. Last year the total was just > 29 percent, down from 61 percent in 1983. > > China, said Martin Blume, the journals' editor, has surged > ahead by submitting more than 1,000 papers a year. "Other > scientific publishers are seeing the same kind of thing," he > added. > > Another downturn centers on the Nobel Prizes, an icon of > scientific excellence. Traditionally, the United States, > powered by heavy federal investments in basic research, the > kind that pursues fundamental questions of nature, dominated > the awards. > > But the American share, after peaking from the 1960's through > the 1990's, has fallen in the 2000's to about half, 51 > percent. The rest went to Britain, Japan, Russia, Germany, > Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand. > > "We are in a new world, and it's increasingly going to be > dominated by countries other than the United States," Denis > Simon, dean of management and technology at the Rensselaer > Polytechnic Institute, recently said at a scientific meeting > in Washington. > > Europe and Asia are ascendant, analysts say, even if their > achievements go unnoticed in the United States. In March, for > example, European scientists announced that one of their > planetary probes had detected methane in the atmosphere of > Mars — a possible sign that alien microbes live beneath the > planet's surface. The finding made headlines from Paris to > Melbourne. But most Americans, bombarded with images from > America's own rovers successfully exploring the red planet, > missed the foreign news. > > More aggressively, Europe is seeking to dominate particle > physics by building the world's most powerful atom smasher, > set for its debut in 2007. Its circular tunnel is 17 miles > around. > > Science analysts say Asia's push for excellence promises to be > even more challenging. > > "It's unbelievable," Diana Hicks, chairwoman of the school of > public policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said of > Asia's growth in science and technical innovation. "It's > amazing to see these output numbers of papers and patents > going up so fast." > > Analysts say comparative American declines are an inevitable > result of rising standards of living around the globe. > > "It's all in the ebb and flow of globalization," said Jack > Fritz, a senior officer at the National Academy of > Engineering, an advisory body to the federal government. He > called the declines "the next big thing we will have to adjust > to." > > The rapidly changing American status has not gone unnoticed by > politicians, with Democrats on the attack and the White House > on the defensive. > > "We stand at a pivotal moment," Tom Daschle, the Senate > Democratic leader, recently said at a policy forum in > Washington at the American Association for the Advancement of > Science, the nation's top general science group. "For all our > past successes, there are disturbing signs that America's > dominant position in the scientific world is being shaken." > > Mr. Daschle accused the Bush administration of weakening the > nation's science base by failing to provide enough money for > cutting-edge research. > > The president's science adviser, John H. Marburger III, who > attended the forum, strongly denied that charge, saying in an > interview that overall research budgets during the Bush > administration have soared to record highs and that the > science establishment is strong. > > "The sky is not falling on science," Dr. Marburger said. > "Maybe there are some clouds — no, things that need > attention." Any problems, he added, are within the power of > the United States to deal with in a way that maintains the > vitality of the research enterprise. > > Analysts say Mr. Daschle and Dr. Marburger can both supply > data that supports their positions. > > A major question, they add, is whether big spending > automatically translates into big rewards, as it did in the > past. During the cold war, the government pumped more than $1 > trillion into research, with a wealth of benefits including > lasers, longer life expectancies, men on the Moon and the > prestige of many Nobel Prizes. > > Today, federal research budgets are still at record highs; > this year more than $126 billion has been allocated to > research. Moreover, American industry makes extensive use of > federal research in producing its innovations and adds its own > vast sums of money, the combination dwarfing that of any other > nation or bloc. > > But the edifice is less formidable than it seems, in part > because of the nation's costly and unique military role. This > year, financing for military research hit $66 billion, higher > in fixed dollars than in the cold war and far higher than in > any other country. > > For all the spending, the United States began to experience a > number of scientific declines in the 1990's, boom years for > the nation's overall economy. > > For instance, scientific papers by Americans peaked in 1992 > and then fell roughly 10 percent, the National Science > Foundation reports. Why? Many analysts point to rising foreign > competition, as does the European Commission, which also > monitors global science trends. In a study last year, the > commission said Europe surpassed the United States in the > mid-1990's as the world's largest producer of scientific > literature. > > Dr. Hicks of Georgia Tech said that American scientists, when > top journals reject their papers, usually have no idea that > rising foreign competition may be to blame. > > On another front, the numbers of new doctorates in the > sciences peaked in 1998 and then fell 5 percent the next year, > a loss of more than 1,300 new scientists, according to the > foundation. > > A minor exodus also hit one of the hidden strengths of > American science: vast ranks of bright foreigners. In a > significant shift of demographics, they began to leave in what > experts call a reverse brain drain. After peaking in the > mid-1990's, the number of doctoral students from China, India > and Taiwan with plans to stay in the United States began to > fall by the hundreds, according to the foundation. > > These declines are important, analysts say, because new > scientific knowledge is an engine of the American economy and > technical innovation, its influence evident in everything from > potent drugs to fast computer chips. > > Patents are a main way that companies and inventors reap > commercial rewards from their ideas and stay competitive in > the marketplace while improving the lives of millions. > > Foreigners outside the United States are playing an > increasingly important role in these expressions of industrial > creativity. In a recent study, CHI Research, a consulting firm > in Haddon Heights, N.J., found that researchers in Japan, > Taiwan and South Korea now account for more than a quarter of > all United States industrial patents awarded each year, > generating revenue for their own countries and limiting it in > the United States. > > Moreover, their growth rates are rapid. Between 1980 and 2003, > South Korea went from 0 to 2 percent of the total, Taiwan from > 0 to 3 percent and Japan from 12 to 21 percent. > > "It's not just lots of patents," Francis Narin, CHI's > president, said of the Asian rise. "It's lots of good patents > that have a high impact," as measured by how often subsequent > patents cite them. > > Recently, Dr. Narin added, both Taiwan and Singapore surged > ahead of the United States in the overall number of citations. > Singapore's patents include ones in chemicals, semiconductors, > electronics and industrial tools. > > China represents the next wave, experts agree, its scientific > rise still too fresh to show up in most statistics but already > apparent. Dr. Simon of Rensselaer said that about 400 foreign > companies had recently set up research centers in China, with > General Electric, for instance, doing important work there on > medical scanners, which means fewer skilled jobs in America. > > Ross Armbrecht, president of the Industrial Research > Institute, a nonprofit group in Washington that represents > large American companies, said businesses were going to China > not just because of low costs but to take advantage of China's > growing scientific excellence. > > "It's frightening," Dr. Armbrecht said. "But you've got to go > where the horses are." An eventual danger, he added, is the > slow loss of intellectual property as local professionals > start their own businesses with what they have learned from > American companies. > > For the United States, future trends look challenging, many > analysts say. > > In a report last month, the American Association for the > Advancement of Science said the Bush administration, to live > up to its pledge to halve the nation's budget deficit in the > next five years, would cut research financing at 21 of 24 > federal agencies — all those that do or finance science except > those involved in space and national and domestic security. > > More troubling to some experts is the likelihood of an > accelerating loss of quality scientists. Applications from > foreign graduate students to research universities are down by > a quarter, experts say, partly because of the federal > government's tightening of visas after the 2001 terrorist > attacks. > > Shirley Ann Jackson, president of the American Association for > the Advancement of Science, told the recent forum audience > that the drop in foreign students, the apparently declining > interest of young Americans in science careers and the aging > of the technical work force were, taken together, a perilous > combination of developments. > > "Who," she asked, "will do the science of this millennium?" > > Several private groups, including the Council on > Competitiveness, an organization in Washington that seeks > policies to promote industrial vigor, have begun to agitate > for wide debate and action. > > "Many other countries have realized that science and > technology are key to economic growth and prosperity," said > Jennifer Bond, the council's vice president for international > affairs. "They're catching up to us," she said, warning > Americans not to "rest on our laurels." > > > Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy > Policy | Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top > > > > The New York Times > > The New York Times > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Express yourself with the new version of MSN Messenger! > Download today - it's FREE! > -------------------------------------------- This service is > hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
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