Archive: Innovation and Economic Mobility

Features

11-10-08 | How to Save the U.S. Space Program

By Neal Lane and George Abbey
The future of the U.S. space program is very much in doubt. In spite of continued great accomplishments, a number of setbacks, combined with a series of bold pronouncements by the Bush administration followed by inadequate funding, have led to serious questions of the nation’s commitment to space and, consequently, to a steady erosion of NASA and the aerospace industry that supports its missions.

11-07-08 | The Scientific World Is Round

By Jonathan Moreno, interviewer
The contemporary scientific community is a complex adaptive system woven among researchers across the globe. But the rules of the system tend to block scientists in poor nations from participating. A scientific system of the future would ignore national borders and solve the problems of everyday life.

11-05-08 | Science Under Obama

By Chris Mooney
There’s much for scientists to like about Barack Obama’s plans for science policy—but will he make it a priority, and what about the money?

10-22-08 | The Science Crunch

By Chris Mooney
How will unprecedented budget deficits affect the funding of American science? The answer: No one is entirely sure, but they can’t be good.

10-20-08 | From the Lab to the Home (Without Leaving the Building)

By Rick Weiss
As different as Singapore is from America politically and culturally, the way it is tackling its economic challenges through big investments in science and technology deserves attention from Washington insiders and the American public.

08-29-08 | Better Patents Through Crowdsourcing

By Nancy Scola
Want to clean up the patent mess? Start by admitting government can’t know everything. Then put the public on the task.

08-07-08 | It’s the Money, Stupid

By Beryl Lieff Benderly
It isn’t a scientist shortage or a poor public education system. It’s the lack of decent-paying, tenured job opportunities for young graduate and postgraduate research scientists.

08-06-08 | A New Mission for American Science

By Chris Mooney
While everybody is talking about energy these days, they’re not necessarily talking about the scientific opportunity so much as the business one. The moment is right for researchers to take up—with a sense of unshaking mission and purpose—the grand cause of a generation.

06-25-08 | From the Lab to the Market

By Ed Paisley and Jennifer Nelson
Five factors influence biotechnology transfer—university policies, economic development agencies, venture capitalists, strategic partners, and financial markets. Understanding each of them is crucial to building regional centers of innovation.

06-23-08 | Wi-fi, War, and Peace in Myanmar

By Robert Klitzman, MD
If the Internet is a force for democracy, then is there a moral imperative to bring the World Wide Web to citizens living under repressive regimes?

05-27-08 | Your iPhone Is Going to Outsmart You

By Lyle Ungar
It won’t be long before computers will outsmart humans and take over basic problem-solving tasks. But because we don’t understand the exponential growth of computational power, we can’t see it coming.

05-07-08 | It’s Just Like That, Except Different

By W. Patrick McCray
Advocates and critics of nanoscience research often compare the technology to the creation of genetically-modified organisms, yet the more apt analogy is to the space program. But there are limits to the analogies used in shaping emerging technology policy.

04-18-08 | What Money Can Buy

By Jonathan Pfeiffer, interviewer
David Goldston wants to ask the big questions about federal science policy. Can the research establishment become unsustainably large? Are scientists always an asset to Congress? And what are the problems with current methods of creating science policy?

04-15-08 | Quality and Ingenuity Are Intertwined

By Jim Turner and Maryann Feldman
Americans invented quality assurance procedures, those prosaic yet indispensable steps that insure ever-incremental innovation. It’s time we upgraded government for the 21st Century, relying on the insights of Joseph Juran.

03-26-08 | Broadband Done Right

By Nancy Scola
Virginia rolls out high-speed Internet programs to boost jobs, health care, education, and commerce. It’s a model that works.

03-11-08 | 21st Century Government: The Next Big Thing

By Jim Turner and Maryann Feldman
Applying the tools of 21st century technology and innovation to the science of governing offers a wealth of opportunities to promote the common good.

01-29-08 | Bush Asks Congress to Double Science Spending

By Ed Paisley
Progressives can get behind the president if he supports in words and deeds his calls for a doubling of federal spending on critical basic research, writes Ed Paisley.

01-29-08 | The Flashing Light on America’s Dashboard

By Tom Kalil
The decline in basic scientific research in the United States is verifiable, writes Tom Kalil, but easily reversible with the right set of policies in place.

01-28-08 | A Few Words from the President on Science and Technology

By Science Progress
Tonight, President Bush offers the final State of the Union address of his presidency. Saying that science has gotten short shrift during the Bush years is nothing new. Science Progress takes a look at some of the key terms in science and tech policy that have, and have not, appeared in the previous six State of the Union addresses.

01-23-08 | Science and the 2009 Budget

By John Irons
President Bush’s last budget is unlikely to expand dedicated and critical federal spending on science. It’s a problem that must be overcome.

01-03-08 | Reopening the IPO Window

By Joseph W. Bartlett
Without greater access to public markets, startup entrepreneurs trying to commercialize cutting-edge science and technology will founder.

11-30-07 | Maine’s Tradition of Innovation

By Hannah Pingree
Maine voters recently voted to support targeted investment in the state’s technology sector through the Maine Technology Initiative. Technology investments have yielded significant gains for the state economy since the 19th century.

11-28-07 | A National Innovation Agenda

By Thomas Kalil, John S. Irons
The Center for American Progress today releases the first pieces of Progressive Growth, its Economic Plan for the Next Administration, which includes a chapter on expanding growth and opportunity through science and technology.

11-26-07 | Supporting Venture Innovation

By Joseph W. Bartlett
Entrepreneurial, venture capital-backed innovation industries require a deft public policy hand to find the financing they need to help boost economic prosperity.

10-23-07 | The State of the Scientific Estate

By Dan Guttman
WWII contracting out of scientific inquiry in the interest of national security was the springboard for mid-20th century reform of American government that yielded great successes but has lost its moorings. It’s time to re-envision the role of private contractors in the public service.

10-17-07 | Watch That Message

By Chris Mooney
Scientific integrity and scientific innovation aren’t necessarily—or always—the same thing. There are important distinctions that must be made if we are to marry sound scientific research with sound science and technology policymaking.

10-09-07 | Science and Technology Is the Answer

By Robert D. Atkinson
More private- and public-sector investment, collaboration and talent creation are essential for broadly shared future economic prosperity.

10-04-07 | Diversity Should Power Science

By Scott Page
Scientific inquiry proceeds most fruitfully when sufficient funding is spread across a complexity of disciplines to a diversity of researchers.