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NSF Fact Sheet

 


Media contact:

 Bill Noxon

 (703) 292-8070

 wnoxon@nsf.gov

Science and Technology Then and Now

June 2000

Key Policy Documents Connect Five Decades. Fifty years ago, the National Science Foundation (NSF) was created amid a major transition from a wartime mobilization of science and engineering resources to a new system - one with a broad new set of national objectives - and one favoring the formation of new federal partnerships with academia and industry.

Two key policy documents, Vannevar Bush's Science - The Endless Frontier and the "Steelman Report," Science and Public Policy, provided the impetus to this new science system to carry the U.S. beyond the World War Two era. The later and more detailed Steelman Report, published in 1947, set in motion the eventual role the federal government would play in supporting fundamental research at universities. Today, because these key early documents were taken seriously, universities occupy the vital center of the U.S. research system, unique to the United States.

Research Facilities - Then and Now. During the major transformation after World War Two, the Steelman Report saw the "urgent" need for libraries, laboratory space and equipment, not only in terms of basic research but also "to train scientists for research and development in the future." Today, federal support to educational institutions is a vital part of the research system, but as a new century arrives, there is concern about the adequacy of academic research facilities. In 1998, 54 percent of the institutions responding to a NSF survey reported that they "had to defer needed S&E construction or repair/renovation projects" because of insufficient funds. The federal share of research equipment expenditures also declined over a 16-year period.

The Human Factor. Science and Public Policy focused much attention on the depletion of trained scientists and engineers resulting from World War Two. The G.I. Bill and establishment of postdoctoral fellows programs did much by the 1950s to alleviate the shortages. A further surge in the growth of students pursuing careers in science and engineering occurred after the Russian Sputnik spacecraft launched successfully, beginning the "space race."

Today, the demand for scientists and engineers is high and unemployment among these groups is low. However, demand varies by field and sector. In 1947, the Steelman Report expressed concern that teaching loads for returning war veterans increased so much that the academic sector's capacity for research diminished significantly. Today's concern is different. Tenure track positions are so competitive that young scientists are demoralized by the lack of positions in either academia or industry. Meanwhile, the amount of research experience required to qualify for a tenure track position has continued to increase. Postdoctoral appointments grow in number and duration. A recent resurgence of emphasis on the links between research and education at many institutions seeks a greater balance, and addresses the concern about whom is being prepared and how well.

Encouragement of Foreign Students. The Steelman document of 1947 gave encouragement to foreign students to attend U.S. colleges and universities. Today, the significant presence and success of foreign-born students at universities, especially at the graduate level, has been balanced by a concern that they populate some disciplines in much higher numbers than U.S. students. In the workforce, foreign-born scientists and engineers make up over 26 percent of science and engineering doctoral degree holders. But percentages of foreign-born bachelors' degree holders in S&E are lower than for their population in the S&E labor force as a whole. Some of this may be attributable to a near decade-long reduction in permanent visas for S&E workers. Instead, there has been wide use of temporary visas (known as H-1Bs) awarded to workers with at least a bachelors' degree so they may work in the U.S. for up to six years in a variety of high-demand occupations, the most widely publicized being information technologies.

Other Relevant Comparisons and Contrasts.
spacerElementary and secondary education - Steelman, 1947, pointed to deficiencies in mathematics and science instruction. Today, the issues of student achievement, curriculum, instruction and teacher preparation rank near the top of the national agenda.
spacerR&D and Economic Growth - Vannevar Bush focused on themes of science, technology and job creation. Steelman was more concerned with U.S. leadership internationally. The 1994 Clinton-Gore policy statement, Science in the National Interest, and the 1998 Ehlers report, Unlocking the Future, are amalgams of the five-decade old concepts offered by Bush and Steelman, highlighting the importance of U.S. science-related and high technology industries in job creation and international leadership.
spacerImpact of Information Technology (IT) - In 1945, Vannevar Bush predicted that new and unimagined technologies would almost certainly result from post-World War research, even hinting at the development of what we know now as digital libraries. Today, IT has contributed significantly to an $8.8-trillion knowledge-based economy.

Questions and Enduring Values for a New Century. - The complexity of our world and the rapidity of change force some difficult questions about the appropriate federal role in research. Yet, the Bush and Steelman reports 50 years ago originated fundamental policy values that endure: the need for ample human resources for science and engineering; a vigorous infrastructure for research; a robust government-university partnership to advance knowledge in conjunction with education and training; and a symbiosis between fundamental research and national goals.

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