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October 9, 2002

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CONTENTS

1) Upcoming Events

2) Current Releases

3) New Projects

4) Upcoming Releases

5) Internship Opportunities

Click on links for more detailed information

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UPCOMING EVENTS

“Deconstructing the Computer” December 2002 (date tbd)

As part of the STEP Board's project on Measuring and

Sustaining the New Economy, this major workshop, chaired

by STEP chairman Dale Jorgenson, will gather leading

industrialists and academic researchers to investigate

the contribution of computers to the remarkable growth of the

1990s and the underlying components and technologies that

contributed to that growth. The overall project is identifying and

reviewing key issues associated with the measurement and

analysis of the New Economy, the technologies underpinning its

development, and the government-industry collaborations and

regulatory framework necessary to support the development of

these technologies.

Contact Chris Hayter at chayter@nas.edu for details.

“A Patent System for the 21^st Century” January 2003 (date tbd)

A public symposium for the release of the final report of the

Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based

Economy. Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu for details.

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CURRENT RELEASES

“Government-Industry Partnerships for the Development

of New Technologies: Summary Report”

As one reviewer noted, "This is a very valuable and timely

report that offers a solid assessment of several current

cooperative government/private sector mechanisms to stimulate

the creation and commercialization of important new technologies.

Drawing on the results of ten focused reports on a range of

federal government/industry technology partnerships published by

the [NRC] Committee since 1999, this report puts these cooperative

efforts in historical perspective and synthesizes the lessons learned

from both recent and past efforts to use federal funds to stimulate

private sector technology development. The strengths and

weaknesses of recent government/industry partnerships are

presented and the importance of ongoing objective assessments

to maximize program success is demonstrated. Finally, the

vapidity of much of the current political rhetoric that passes for

informed debated about recent programs is exposed and

assessment metrics to better inform future debate are identified."

This project was chaired by Gordon Moore, Chairman Emeritus,

Intel.

Contact chayter@nas.edu copies of this publication.

"Partnerships for Solid State Lighting"

This report summarizes the 26 March 2001 workshop which

gathered leading academic researchers, government officials

and policy makers, as well as representatives from large and

small firms to explore the potential contributions, technical

challenges and opportunities for government-industry-university

collaboration in the area of solid state lighting. Among the

related topics discussed were the national security and energy

efficiency implications of solid state lighting and the investments

in research and measurement required to bring this promising

technology forward to the marketplace.

Contact chayter@nas.edu copies of this publication.

"Using Human Resources Data to Assess Innovation"

STEP conducted a workshop of economists, statisticians, industry

representatives, and policy analysts to consider how more systematic

exploitation of data on scientists, engineers and other professionals --

their training, mobility, and career paths, functions in corporations,

relationships across sectors, and productivity -- could improve

understanding of the innovation process. The report describes major

sources of HR data, examples of their use in research, and steps that

might be taken to improve the data and link the information in different

data sets. A background paper by Paula Stephan, Georgia State

University economist and expert on the science and engineering

workforce, is included in the volume.

Contact cschultz@nas.edu for copies of this publication.

And from the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy:

“Observations on the President's Fiscal Year 2003 Federal

Science and Technology Budget”

Fifth in a series of annual analyses that examine trends by agency

and field in federal funding of science and technology research programs,

this report explores the President's FY 2003 budget request and how it

would fund research that would both address current national goals and

priorities and also advance science and engineering for the long-term."

Read online at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10504.html

Contact Elizabeth Briggs at ebriggs@nas.edu

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NEW PROJECTS

The Nation's Research Portfolio

In a series of reports, the STEP Board has documented the

significant shifts in public support of research and graduate

training in 22 fields of science and engineering in comparison

with support from other sources -- industry, states, and philanthropic

donors. A new project is developing techniques for assessing the

output and productivity of research fields and for identifying

complementary capabilities across sectors and countries.

Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu for more information.

See also

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10162.html

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9467.html

Additional data not included in the report at

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/step/STEP_Projects_Federal_Support_of_Research.html

Innovation Indicators and Data

“Using Human Resources Data to Track Innovation” (see report

releases above) represents on in a series of STEP workshops

that have examined how to improve the measurement of and

collection of data on changes in innovation processes such as

the shortening of investment time horizons and the greater

reliance on partnerships among firms and between industry and

universities. A workshop, planned for Spring 2003, will consider

improvements in the National Science Foundation's surveys of industrial

and federal R&D performance.

Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu for more information.

For the recent workshop report cited above, see http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10475.html

New Approaches to Early Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis

The healthcare system is experiencing a re-escalation of costs and a wave

of innovation at the same time people are concerned about medical care

access and quality. An initial conference and subsequent workshop report

(see http://www7.nationalacademies.org/step/STEP_Projects_Medical_Marketplace.html)

examined the relationship between medical innovation and costs and

possible reasons for very different patterns of innovation in two disease

categories – cardiovascular disease and melanoma. A new collaboration

with the Institute of Medicine will look prospectively at new breast cancer

detection technologies, their development and adoption in clinical practice.

The objective is to understand how to promote high-value medical innovation.

A workshop on the economics of breast cancer detection technologies is

planned for February 2002. The study committee is chaired by STEP member

Ed Penhoet, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and STEP member Kathy

Behrens, RS Investments, serves on the panel.

Contact Craig Schultz at cschultz@nas.edu for more information.

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UPCOMING RELEASES

“Securing the Future: Regional and National Programs to Support

the Semiconductor Industry”

As part of its analysis of public-private partnerships, the Committee

convened a major conference on regional and national programs to

support the semiconductor industry. The conference brought together

a rare assemblage of international experts to examine the technical

challenges facing the semiconductor industry, the scope and design of

programs to strengthen national and regional industries, and

opportunities for international cooperation. The conference focused

on the role of government-industry partnerships (or consortia), the

influence of the SEMATECH model, and the exceptional technical

challenges faced by the industry as it seeks to maintain the rapid

advance postulated by Moore’s Law. The report reviews past and

current challenges faced by the U.S. industry and emphasizes the

need for public-private research cooperation to ensure the industry’s

continued progress.

Expected Release: October/November 2002

Contact Chris Hayter at chayter@nas.edufor information

"Patents in the Knowledge-Based Economy" (tentative title)

A collection of commissioned original research on patent

administration, licensing, and litigation. Includes papers on

business method patenting trends, access to research tools in

biotechnology, and patent suits in the semiconductor industry.

Originally presented at an October 2001 conference in Washington,

the papers have been revised and expanded.

Current versions, along with other project work product can be found at

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/step/STEP_Projects_Intellectual_Property_Rights.html

Final committee report with recommendations of the STEP Committee

on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-Based Economy.

The committee's charge is at

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/step/STEP_Projects_IPR_Phase_II_Description.html

Expected release date for both volumes: January, 2003

Contact cschultz@nas.edu for information.

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INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

CHRISTINE MIRZAYAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

POLICY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL

ACADEMIES, WASHINGTON, D.C.

This Internship Program of the National Academies--consisting

of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of

Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research

Council--is designed to engage graduate and postdoctoral

students in science and technology policy and to familiarize

them with the interactions among science, technology, and

government. As a result, students in the fields of science,

engineering, medicine, veterinary medicine, business, and law

develop essential skills different from those attained in academia,

which will help them make the transition from being a graduate

student to a professional.

We are pleased to announce that applications are now being

accepted for our 2003 program. This year, the internship

program will comprise three sessions:

To apply, candidates should submit an application and request their

mentor fill out a reference form. Both are available on the Web at

http://national-academies.org/internship. The deadline for applications

is November 1 for the Winter program, March 1 for the Summer program,

and June 1 for the Fall program. Candidates may apply to all three

programs simultaneously.

Additional details about the program and how to join our mailing list are

also available on the Web site. Questions should be directed to:

internship@nas.edu.

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