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| For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Editor: Beth Gaston Contents of this Tipsheet:
PATENT CITATIONS MEASURE S&T; LINKAGEOne measure of a nation's scientific and technological health is the number and quality of inventions. If a patent is the technological output, then basic science research results are very often the enabling inputs. That connection between basic science and technology can be measured by counting the number of times U.S. patents cite scientific papers. The connection is very strong in the United States, and the role of taxpayer-funded research in creating that connection is growing, according to Francis Narin, President of CHI Research Inc. Since 1972, Narin has worked with NSF to develop indicators that can measure science and technology activity and outputs. He recently measured the links between basic research and patented industrial technology as one means to evaluate the return on the public's investment in science. While the private sector remains an important player, inventors are increasingly depending on research conducted at universities and government laboratories and funded by institutions like NSF and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), said Narin. For U.S. companies, links between patents awarded and scientific publications have more than tripled, and U.S. universities are the top source of the patent citations. NSF is the top support agency for U.S. papers in physics and chemistry, and is second only to NIH as the support agency for all cited papers. "These findings show that technology and science are very closely linked, and that a strong science base is absolutely necessary for technological leadership," said Narin. [Mary Hanson/George Chartier]
NSF ENCOURAGES "PAPERLESS OFFICE"Although the "paperless office" may not yet be a reality, the National Science Foundation has taken a major step toward encouraging its researchers, grant administrators, and others to use the Internet to conduct business through FastLane, an interactive service on the World Wide Web. The system allows researchers to sign on electronically and instantaneously check the status of a grant proposal, nominate a colleague for the Medal of Science, or file the required forms summing up research findings. "I do not use the words 'revolutionize' and 'overhaul' lightly," said Gerard P. Glaser, the acting director of the NSF's Office of Information Resource Management. "But FastLane gets at the very heart of how the NSF interacts with its customers." Begun in response to Vice President Gore's charge to federal agencies to seek ways to streamline their operations, FastLane has been and continues to be thoroughly tested by officials of 16 colleges and universities nationwide. Since it became widely available in the fall of 1995, the numbers of users of FastLane have continually grown and new features are still being developed. For the first time this month, NSF is requiring applicants to a major program, the Recognition Award for the Integration of Research and Education, to file their proposals exclusively through FastLane. Glaser said that requirement is expected to raise the awareness of FastLane throughout the academic community because the program is designed to attract applications from the presidents of the nation's large research universities. Although he does not expect FastLane to replace all forms of printed communication between the NSF, its clients, and the public, he adds that the medium offers many advantages -- such as locating information through electronic searches -- that paper does not. "What we're very anxious to do is to get as many people as possible in the habit of dealing with us electronically." FastLane is located at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/ [Peter West]
WORKING ACROSS DISCIPLINES TO STUDY LEARNING AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMSThe more we understand the mysteries of the mind, the physiology of the brain, and the creation of artificial systems, the more complex the questions become. NSF recently hosted a workshop on the Collaborative Research Initiative on Learning and Intelligent Systems to define some areas where research is most needed. The effort is truly collaborative, involving representatives from the biological, behavioral, social, mathematical and computer sciences as well as engineers and educators. Considerable research has been undertaken in recent years to understand how both living organisms and computing systems process and use information. Humans and other animals have a remarkable ability to learn and adapt -- the complexity of which becomes ever more apparent as researchers try to create intelligent artificial systems. Collaboration among researchers in many disciplines can provide insight into the fundamental nature of learning and creating, and can produce intelligent learning systems and tools that will revolutionize how people deal with complex environments and each other. A new, interdisciplinary program will be announced this fall. [Beth Gaston]
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