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On 25-26 October 1999, the STEP Partnerships project convened a conference on Government-Industry Partnerships in Biotechnology and Computing. The conference, organized with the encouragement of the White House, was attended by approximately 180 people, featured more than 30 top-level speakers, and drew national attention to the new needs and opportunities resulting from the nation's investment in the exploration of the human genome. The agenda and participants list are available below. Conference highlights included opening remarks from Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), the participation of Intel Chairman Emeritus Gordon Moore, and an inspiring luncheon speech from NASA Administrator Dan Goldin (see below). Other senior participants included Tom Kalil of the White House National Economic Council, Rita Colwell of the National Science Foundation, and Marvin Cassman, Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The strong interest in the growing synergies and emerging gaps in funding and training across multiple agencies was one of the distinguishing features of the conference.

Growing imbalances in federal R&D funding in biotechnology and computing
A decline in R&D funding for basic research in some disciplines
The need for greater cross-disciplinary training for biologists and computer scientists
The need for information technology tools to conduct and process the results of genomics research
The different roles played by intellectual property in biotechnology and information technology in providing an environment conducive to innovation (see the STEP study on Intellectual Property Rights in the Knowledge-based Economy)

A report, entitled Government-Industry Partnerships in Biotechnology and Information Technologies: New Needs and New Opportunities, is in preparation. Based in part on the 25-26 October 1999 conference, this report will include papers by Wesley Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University and John Walsh of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Kenneth Flamm of the University of Texas at Austin, and Paula Stephan of Georgia State University. This report will also include formal recommendations and findings concerning the important relationship between information technologies and biotechnology, the importance of a balanced portfolio of R&D investments, and the growing need for cross-disciplinary training in areas such as bioinformatics, multi-disciplinary centers, and large-scale computational tools.

Government-Industry Partnerships in Biotechnology and Computing (October 25-26, 1999)

Government Industry Partnerships in Biotechnology and Computing (June 6-7, 1999)

For additional information, please contact McAlister Clabaugh at 202-334-1529 or at mclabaug@nas.edu