Extraordinary Engineering Impacts on Society Proceedings of a Symposium (2023) / Chapter Skim
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2 NSF and Its Role in Fostering Extraordinary EngineeringImpacts on Society
2 NSF and Its Role in Fostering Extraordinary EngineeringImpacts on Society
Pages 11-20
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From page 11... ...
"Diversity promotes richer perspectives and better science." NSF's role in engineering research will be even more important in the future. Major laboratories funded by companies like General Electric, Bell Labs, and IBM have shrunk or ceased to exist or are doing less basic research, and newer companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have likewise emphasized applied research.
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From page 12... ...
We have basic research on one side of the valley and applied research and innovation on the other side, with the valley of death in between, and very few bridging mechanisms across that gap." The formation of NSF was delayed until 1950 over disputes about its scope and autonomy. During this period, other federal agencies built research programs based on models that differed from the one initially adopted by NSF.
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From page 13... ...
Initiative, brought together agencies in collaborative efforts, and "the directors of the 16 advanced manufacturing institutes are on the phone together at least every other week, trying to figure out common strategies and success models together." The United States has long had industrial economic policy in such areas as agriculture, energy, transport, aeronautics, and biomedicine, but three drivers are now moving NSF toward its own emerging industrial innovation policy: the rise of China as an economic and military competitor, the need to decarbonize the economy, and the COVID-19 pandemic. "All of these have been driving a more connected system," said Bonvillian.
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From page 14... ...
The United States has had only limited success in creating regional innovation clusters, which means that new approaches will be needed. Also, the bill is lacking in certain provisions, such as educating a technically skilled workforce, support for manufacturing, protection of supply chains, and financing provisions.
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From page 15... ...
big tasks ahead, and NSF is going to need to be at the center of these." THE BROADER IMPACTS OF ENGINEERING RESEARCH The world faces major global challenges, said Thomas Woodson, associate professor of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University, including climate change, inequality, war, population challenges, pollution, and privacy issues. "Engineering is a major part of the solution" to these problems, he said.
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From page 16... ...
Others may be geared toward marginalized communities, thereby including communities that had previously been excluded. In terms of immediacy, some innovations are closely related to the research itself, while other impacts occur while conducting research.
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From page 17... ...
"You don't just want to have the same people in the room." He observed that face-to-face rather than online interactions can be particularly fruitful when people in different disciplines work together, although he added that engineers sometimes tend to not listen to other people or to outside perspectives. "One thing engineers need to do better is engage with the people engaging with decision makers.
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From page 18... ...
Woodson added that people from other countries continue to want to come to the United States to study and work and that "it is very critical to keep those channels open." Being at the forefront in efforts to global challenges maintains America's attractiveness as a destination for international researchers. International collaborations can also help instill a sense of humility in US researchers when they go to other countries, encouraging them to listen to others about the problems they face.
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From page 19... ...
"Our ability to do revolutionary breakthroughs is dependent to a very significant extent on our basic science capability and our ability to then transfer those revolutions into implementation. Obviously, we need to get better at that second stage, but remaining strong at that basic research revolutionary possibility area is key." As an example of synergy, he mentioned that NSF was the funder of the research on which Google's original search engine was built.
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From page 20... ...
The CHIPS and Science Act calls for the Commerce Department to establish 10 regional innovation hubs organized around critical technologies. "It's going to be a big challenge.
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