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Project Linking Multi-Agency Surveys Produces New Findings on R&D by Multinational Companies
Project Linking Multi-Agency Surveys Produces New Findings on R&D by Multinational Companies
Source: National Science Foundation
Newly developed information from the Research and Development Data Link Project—a joint project of the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Census Bureau (Census), and Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)—reveals new insights on the U.S. R&D activities of multinational companies (MNCs), such as the character of R&D work performed by these companies (basic research, applied research, and development). Additional new details on the R&D performed by MNCs, such as state location and technology focus, will be available in detailed statistical tables available in the forthcoming report International Investment and R&D Data Link: 2004–07 (see “Data Availability” for more information).
The project matched records of U.S.-located companies that performed R&D, from the NSF–Census Survey of Industrial Research and Development (SIRD), to records of U.S. affiliates of foreign MNCs, from BEA’s Foreign Direct Investment in the United States (FDIUS) survey. Separately, it matched these SIRD data to records of parent companies of U.S. MNCs from BEA’s U.S. Direct Investment Abroad (USDIA) survey for a given data year. The project covered 2004 to 2007, the last year SIRD was conducted.[2] (See “Definitions” for explanation of terms and “Data Notes” for the methodology).
Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science 2013 – 2022
Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science 2013 – 2022
Source: NASA and the National Science Foundation
In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon’s poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have emerged. Liquid methane rain falls on Saturn’s moon Titan, creating rivers, lakes, and geologic landscapes with uncanny resemblances to Earth’s. Comets impact Jupiter, producing Earth-sized scars in the planet’s atmosphere. Saturn’s poles exhibit bizarre geometric cloud patterns and changes; its rings show processes that may help us understand the nature of planetary accretion. Venus may be volcanically active. Jupiter’s icy moons harbor oceans below their ice shells: conceivably Europa’s ocean could support life. Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus has enough geothermal energy to drive plumes of ice and vapor from its south pole. Dust from comets shows the nature of the primitive materials from which the planets and life arose. And hundreds of new planets discovered around nearby stars have begun to reveal how our solar system fits into a vast collection of others.
This report was requested by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to review the status of planetary science in the United States and to develop a comprehensive strategy that will continue these advances in the coming decade. Drawing on extensive interactions with the broad planetary science community, the report presents a decadal program of science and exploration with the potential to yield revolutionary new discoveries. The program will achieve long-standing scientific goals with a suite of new missions across the solar system. It will provide fundamental new scientific knowledge, engage a broad segment of the planetary science community, and have wide appeal for the general public whose support enables the program.
International Collaborations of Scientists and Engineers in the United States
International Collaborations of Scientists and Engineers in the United States
Source: National Science Foundation
International collaboration is a key aspect of the globalization of science and engineering (S&E). In 2006, according to the Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT), one in six scientists and engineers in the United States reported working with individuals in other countries (table 1).[2] International collaboration was more likely to occur among persons working in the for-profit sector, men, and those with higher levels of educational attainment. Individuals who earned postsecondary degrees both in the United States and abroad reported the highest levels of international collaboration.
Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates: 2008
Characteristics of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates: 2008
Source: National Science Foundation
This report presents data from the 2008 National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG) on the characteristics of men and women who received bachelor’s or master’s degrees in science, engineering, or health fields from U.S. institutions during the two academic years 2006 and 2007. The data reflect the employment, educational, and demographic status of individuals as of the survey reference week of 1 October 2008.
The data presented in this report measure the number of individuals with recently acquired science, engineering, and health degrees and do not necessarily coincide with the data on degree completions from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). IPEDS is conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. The IPEDS completions data file represents a count of degrees that graduates were awarded, whereas the NSRCG data represent estimates of graduates (persons).
The data tables present information on the number and median salaries of recent graduates by field of major, occupation, and various demographic characteristics. Tables are presented separately for bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients. Complementary tables for the two degree levels are numbered sequentially so that odd-numbered tables are for bachelor’s degree recipients and even-numbered tables are for master’s degree recipients.
NSF Releases Report Detailing Substantial Growth in Graduate Enrollment in Science and Engineering in the Past Decade
NSF Releases Report Detailing Substantial Growth in Graduate Enrollment in Science and Engineering in the Past Decade
Source: National Science Foundation
A recent report released by the National Science Foundation found that graduate enrollment in science and engineering grew substantially in the past decade.
Approximately 632,700 graduate students were enrolled in science, engineering and health programs in the United States as of fall 2010. This was a 30 percent increase from 493,000 students in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering.
The growth in first time, full-time graduate student enrollment in science, engineering, and health programs over this time was even greater, with a 50 percent increase from approximately 78,400 students in 2000 to almost 118,500 students in 2010.
Enrollment in biomedical engineering, which increased by over seven percent between 2009 and 2010, continues to be one of the fastest growing science and engineering fields and has experienced 165 percent growth–the most rapid growth over the last decade–from approximately 3,200 graduate students in 2000 to 8,500 students in 2010.
CRS — Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: FY2013 Appropriations (PDF)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
On February 13, 2012, President Obama submitted his FY2013 budget to Congress. The Administration requests a total of $62.076 billion for the agencies and bureaus funded as a part of the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill. The Administration’s request includes $7.978 billion for the Department of Commerce, $28.079 billion for the Department of Justice, $25.090 billion for the science agencies, and $929.2 million for the related agencies. The FY2013 request for CJS is 1.9% greater than the FY2012 appropriation of $60.910 billion.
On November 18, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-55), which included the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (Division B). The act included $60.910 billion for CJS, of which $7.808 billion was for the Department of Commerce, $27.408 billion was for the Department of Justice, $24.838 billion was for the science agencies, and $856.6 million was for the related agencies.
This report will track and describe actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2013 appropriations for CJS accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2012 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as a part of the annual appropriation for CJS.The source for the FY2012-enacted amounts is the conference report for the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-55, H.Rept. 112-284). FY2013-requested amounts were taken from the congressional budget submissions for the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Executive Office of the President, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the appendix to the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013.
New Report Outlines Trends in U.S. Global Competitiveness in Science and Technology
The United States remains the global leader in supporting science and technology (S&T) research and development, but only by a slim margin that could soon be overtaken by rapidly increasing Asian investments in knowledge-intensive economies. So suggest trends released in a new report by the National Science Board (NSB), the policymaking body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), on the overall status of the science, engineering and technology workforce, education efforts and economic activity in the United States and abroad.“This information clearly shows we must re-examine long-held assumptions about the global dominance of the American science and technology enterprise,” said NSF Director Subra Suresh of the findings in the Science and Engineering Indicators 2012 released today. “And we must take seriously new strategies for education, workforce development and innovation in order for the United States to retain its international leadership position,” he said.…According to the new Indicators 2012, the largest global S&T gains occurred in the so-called “Asia-10″–China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand–as those countries integrate S&T into economic growth. Between 1999 and 2009, for example, the U.S. share of global research and development (R&D) dropped from 38 percent to 31 percent, whereas it grew from 24 percent to 35 percent in the Asia region during the same time.In China alone, R&D growth increased a stunning 28 percent in a single year (2008-2009), propelling it past Japan and into second place behind the United States.
U.S. Exports of Advanced Technology Products Declined Less Than Other U.S. Exports in 2009
U.S. Exports of Advanced Technology Products Declined Less Than Other U.S. Exports in 2009
Source: National Science Foundation
This InfoBrief presents recent trends in U.S. advanced technology product (ATP) exports. It uses U.S. Census Bureau data available through 2010 to examine the changes in these exports during the recent U.S. recession (“2008–09 recession”) and to offer a brief comparison between the 2008–09 recession and the 2001 recession. It focuses on 4 of the 10 ATP areas defined by the Census Bureau. These are aerospace, electronics, information and communications technology (ICT), and life science, which together accounted for 85% of U.S. ATP exports in 2010. This InfoBrief also describes U.S. ATP trade with selected major economies and regions.
U.S. ATP exports contracted 9% during the recent U.S. recession, from $270 billion in 2008 to $245 billion in 2009 — less than half the 20% rate of loss of non-ATP exports, excluding petroleum. U.S. ATP imports fell by the same percentage as exports, whereas other types of U.S. imports contracted by 24%.
Federal Funding of Basic and Applied Research Increases in FY 2009
Federal Funding of Basic and Applied Research Increases in FY 2009
Source: National Science Foundation
Preliminary FY 2009 data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) show funds obligated by federal agencies for research were estimated to increase by 8.8% over FY 2008, in inflation-adjusted constant dollars. This follows an estimated 2.6% constant-dollar decrease in research obligations between FY 2007 and FY 2008.
Total federal funding obligations for research and development and R&D plant (facilities and fixed equipment) dropped 2.5% in constant dollars from FY 2007 to FY 2008, but they showed only a slight decrease of 0.3% when measured in current dollars, from $129.4 billion to $129.1 billion. The FY 2008 R&D and R&D plant total was 3.4% lower in constant dollars than it was at its peak level in FY 2005 (table 1). Preliminary FY 2009 and projected FY 2010 total federal obligations for R&D and R&D plant are not comparable with totals from earlier years (see below).
