Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

2 Globalization of Materials Research & Development Activity
Pages 34-62

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 34...
... Patent data have advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages are the wealth of infor 34
From page 35...
... The time lag between an invention and the award of a patent for that invention also causes patent data analysis to be insensitive to very recent trends in invention. Nevertheless this tracking of international activity in a particular field is a good complement to other methodologies and can identify trends.
From page 36...
... The key subfields chosen for this analysis were alloys, catalysts, ceramics, magnetic materials, and composites. It is worth noting that since the issue at hand is the level of global activity in MSE R&D, the information tracked by the committee was the location of the inventors recorded on the patent approval.
From page 37...
... Magnetic Materials In magnetic materials, patent output from the United States and Japan has grown along with economic activity and outperformed the combined activity of the five European countries by a factor of 4. Europe's share decreased over the past 20 years, primarily because its output stagnated when that of Japan and the United States was growing.
From page 38...
... Taiwan and Korea have been active, but overall numbers remain low; China and India have displayed no significant activity. Summary of Patent Data Although there are significant differences in the indicators for the five sub fields measured and although there are limitations to this type of analysis, some general trends emerge: · In each subfield the United States is the world leader or among the world leaders.3 · Japan and Western Europe are the closest rivals for leadership.
From page 39...
... 4Literature data were collected for Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) while patent data were collected for the whole of the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland)
From page 40...
... Japan's share remained steady over the 20 years, although the increases seen in China, Taiwan, and Korea were not as strong as in the other subfields. Summary of Literature Data Although there are differences from one subfield to another, some trends emerge: · The United States is among the world leaders in all four subfields, but it does not clearly dominate in any of them.
From page 41...
... TABLE 2.1.1 Materials-Related Professional Engineering Society Memberships Societya 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 (est.) ASM 43,317 43,329 42,264 40,407 38,227 36,656 34,450 34,000 ACerS 10,324 10,340 10,306 9,803 9,347 8,646 TMS 11,236 11,532 8,596 8,646 7,375 7,067 6,487 6,500 SME 66,800 63,900 61,500 55,741 52,082 49,078 46,703 45,000 SPE 38,287 37,748 37,164 29,524 28,618 24,985 21,237 19,475 ISS 8,061 8,223 8,551 7,844 9,373 7,473 6,071 6,000 aASM, American Society for Metals, now ASM International; ACerS, American Ceramic Society; TMS, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society; SME, Society of Manufacturing Engineers; SPE, Society of Plastics Engineers; and ISS, Iron and Steel Society.
From page 42...
... corporate research carried out with joint ventures and/or by contract with foreign corporation(s) 12.6 NOTE: Results of questionnaire sent to MSE researchers who self-identify as being in the United States and carrying out research with an international aspect.
From page 43...
... The Web has affected what research people perform and how and where they perform it. Internet search engines can supply researchers at their desks with information on active research areas, research needs, published information, how the research is performed, and potential places for collaboration.
From page 44...
... While it appears that no data specific to MSE are available, it is reasonable to assume that the trends in transnational corporate MSE R&D are not significantly different from trends for all R&D, recognizing that specific materials subfields may exhibit more intense trends or trends that are different from those of the field as a whole. It is also reasonable, therefore, to assume that the major concerns of corpo rations involved in MSE R&D are similar to those of corporations involved in
From page 45...
... When asked to rate which aspects of the business environment are most important in deciding where to locate R&D, 65 percent of executives in the survey said the quality of the local education system is very or critically important. Related to this, proximity to major universities and research labs remains an important advantage for many types of R&D activity.
From page 46...
... Timken is aware that investment in the more traditional subfields of materials research is decreasing in the United States and increasing in other parts of the world, like China. If this trend continues, Timken may need to consider doing R&D outside the United States in order to generate intellectual property for future products.
From page 47...
... Accessing an equivalent talent pool in the United States is hindered by deterrents such as unfavorable education trends, as well as stricter immigration controls and increasing security concerns, which make it more difficult to employ noncitizens and recruit from abroad. On the educational side, the pool of universities Timken hires from has shrunk to only a handful.
From page 48...
... nanotechnology firm and manufacturer of nanomaterials, signed a joint venture agreement with a New Zealand-based technology company, Nano Cluster Devices Ltd.
From page 49...
... A study of political impacts and drivers is beyond the scope of this report, however. One area of corporate MSE R&D that has undergone major changes in recent years is superalloy research.
From page 50...
... Germany's Krupp-VDM no longer has an R&D operation, and Asea Brown Boveri has cut back R&D in recent years. Superalloy research continues at government-supported laboratories such as the Max-Planck Institute, the Fraunhofer Laboratory, and so on.
From page 51...
... NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory are also active in superalloys research. The superalloy industry has evolved to the point that production facilities are now divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies.
From page 52...
... Nevertheless, examining some of the issues related to education and globalization -- for instance, trends in student enrollment and the supply of U.S.-trained practitioners and the role of non-U.S.-born researchers- provides an interesting perspective on the broader topics in this report. Materials Education Today If MSE professional and research positions are being lost in the United States in MSE subfields like superalloy research, then clearly there is a concomitant loss of skills, experience, and accumulated and tacit knowledge.
From page 53...
... Not only are students lacking in some basic skills in comparison with their international peers, but MSE education is also faced with low and -- worse -- declining enrollments of undergraduate students in materials courses. There are also interesting trends when enrollment in science and engineering (S&E)
From page 54...
... The National Academy of Sciences report Materials and Man's Needs (1974) noted that there was a need for all engineers to receive more in the way of materials education.
From page 55...
... Rarely does a mechanical, civil, chemical, or electrical engineering graduate have more than a single survey course in materials. As an example, the number of manufacturing engineering programs grew from 2 in 1978 to 23 in 2003, but while some materials processing is taught in these programs, only a few have more than one survey course devoted to materials per se or more than two courses in materials processing.
From page 56...
... The course work in these programs required engineering mechanics, physical chemistry, and electrical engineering. At that time, there were 12 ceramic engineering programs, and course work relating to polymeric materials and technology was largely taught in chemical engineering departments.
From page 57...
... Today there are 63 undergraduate materials/metallurgical programs, only 4 undergraduate degree programs in polymer science and engineering, and 6 undergraduate degree programs in ceramic engineering. Over the years, many MSE departments have broadened the scope of their curricula to cover all material classes.
From page 58...
... Over the 1985­2000 period, only 26 percent of South Koreans and 31 percent of Taiwanese reported accepting firm offers to remain in the United States. Both the number of S&E students from these Asian economies and the number who intended to stay in the United States after receipt of their doctoral degree fell in the 1990s.
From page 59...
... MSE professionals who can be productive on the domestic scene and competitive on the international scene must be well educated in all
From page 60...
... aspects -- performance, properties, synthesis and processing, and composition and microstructure -- of a specific material, be it metallic, ceramic, electronic, or polymeric. In summary, a number of challenges exist for the MSE educational system: the increasingly broad curricula in materials departments, the decreasing attraction of MSE as a career choice for high school and university graduates, and the continu ing dependence of graduate programs on attracting foreign students in an increas ingly competitive global market for the best students.
From page 61...
... Asian students at U.S. universities include students on either temporary or permanent visas from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
From page 62...
... education system will have to take into account the materials needs identified by the federal agencies that support MSE R&D as well the needs of the materi als industry. SUMMARY REMARKS In summary, the evidence presented in this chapter and its associated appen dixes -- patent data, literature data, trends in corporate research -- indicates in creasing activity in MSE R&D around the world, with concomitant increases in global and transnational ownership and collaboration.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.