Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
National Research Council

Conference on

New Vistas in Transatlantic

Science and Technology Cooperation

June 8-9, 1998
National Academy of Sciences
Washington, D.C

The National Research Council’s Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy (STEP) was asked by the European Commission and the United States Government to organize a conference on New Vistas in Transatlantic Science and Technology Cooperation. The meeting was one of the major science and technology events of the year.

The successful conclusion of the US-EU Agreement on Science and Technology holds the potential to open a new chapter in transatlantic cooperation. For this to occur, the responsible officials on both sides of the Atlantic believe that the US and European research communities, both public and private, need to be made fully aware of the agreement, understand its terms and opportunities, and benefit from the lessons of successful cooperative arrangements already in place. This timely conference furnished participants with the opportunity to review specific areas and identify projects suitable for transatlantic collaboration.

To this end, the STEP Board assembled leaders in science and technology to review the trends encouraging greater transatlantic cooperation, discuss major European initiatives and the S&T Agreement itself, and highlight cases of effective cooperation. The participants included senior representatives from government, academia, and private industry, including US government agencies, the White House, and delegations from both the European Union and the EU member states.

Plenary sessions addressed current trends in S&T policy and transatlantic R&D cooperation, including public/private support for R&D and SME-oriented public RTD programs. Parallel breakout sessions discussed Information Technologies: Electronic Commerce and the Next Generation Internet; Transportation Challenges for the 21st Century; Climate Change: Projection and Impact; and Opportunities for Collaboration in Human Environmental Health Sciences, among others.

The NRC has commissioned scholarly papers of interest to the European and US S&T communities, and will publish a summary report of the conference.

The conference was held on 8-9 June, 1998, beginning at 8:30AM June 8 in the Auditorium of the National Academy of Sciences, at 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC.

Conference on New Vistas in Transatlantic S&T Cooperation, links: