Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable

(GUIRR) on the Future of I/UCRC’s

The National Academies

Merrilea J. Mayo

About GUIRR

• Membership is G-U-I: – Heads of federal R&D Agencies

– Industry CEO’s/VP’s

– University Presidents/VP’s.

• How to become a member– Appointed by the National Academies Presidents or

– Dues-paying institutional memberships

• Mission: To improve the research enterprise of the United States

• Scope: Issues at the intersection of 2 of the 3 sectors.

• Methods: Individually championed projects, group discussions leading to individual action. “No” reports.

Two Topics of Both National Interest & I/UCRC Involvement

• Workforce

• Globalization

How I/UCRC’s Fit into the National Picture:Workforce

• Accommodate training needs in new fields as they appear, faster than university departmental bureaucracies can respond.– Part of the needed response to ever shorter knowledge cycles

• Prepare students for international technical careers (language requirements, internships abroad)– Global composition of centers; student exchange and visitation

programs in conjunction with international partners of the center

• Become embroiled -- like it or not -- in the national debate about domestic vs. foreign workers– Visa issues

– Grow our own talent vs. import from abroad

– Increasing competition for talent from developing countries

Immigrants Contribute Significantly to MSE Workforce in the U.S.

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

MSE+Mining

EE ME+Marine/Naval

IE CE ChE+NE

AeroE

AgE

Gre

en C

ards

gra

nted

, 200

1

Field

Combined B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (annually) in MSE at U.S. universities

Less than Half Those Trained as MSE’s Actually Work as MSE’s: We need to Train More Broadly

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

1993 1995 1997 1999

Year

Num

ber

Unemployment Rate of Engineers Same as any College-Educated; Much Worse than Doctors or Lawyers

Unemployment by Occupation

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Year

EngineersNatural scientistsComputer analysts/scientists>Bachelors, 25 yrsHealth diagnosingLawyersSocial scientistsTotal

Salaries of Engineers Also Lag Doctors’ and Lawyers’

Median Weekly Earnings by Occupation

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000Year

Engineers

Natural scientists

Computer analysts/scientists

Health Diagnosing

Lawyers

Social scientists

Total

Doctoral Degrees Earned By Chinese Students

Num

ber

Year

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

at Chinese Universities

at U.S. Universities

How I/UCRC ’s Will Fit into a Globalized World:Contributions to National Competitiveness

• Driver for innovation: – 73% of the citations on the front pages of U.S. industry patents are from

publicly funded research (data from CHI Research, Inc.).

• Driver for Economic Growth:– 50% of economic growth is attributable to “technological progress;” 25%

to increases in labor and capital, respectively

• “Eyes and Ears” for national policy debate– Potential locales for collection of “industry health” data

– Inform national competitiveness policy through reports on same

• International Partnerships and Competition, hand in hand– Strategic partnerships with consortia in other countries

– Competition for involvement of global industries

US still an Innovation Leader -- for the Moment. Global Activity in Patenting

• U.S. Patents in other countries: 57,585 – (approx. 800 in China)

• Other countries’ patents in the U.S.: 65, 980• Chinese Patents in other countries: 90• Other countries’ patents in China: 8156

Most foreign companies in China do not participate in R&D

US still an Innovation Leader -- for the Moment.Chinese Patents: Almost all Innovation from Non-Chinese

100%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999

Chinese Foreigners

Invention Functional Design Design Appearance

Data from OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2002.

For the U.S. to remain an innovation leader, we will need to bridge the national “Valley of Death”:

I/UCRC’s can help

– Act As Content Link, between R&D and export activity• Preliminary data suggest Total Factor Productivity for the nation increases

only when domestic R&D is tied to exports. R&D alone does not cut it!

• Centers will need to bring in venture capital, export assistance and other “perks” to members, that coincidentally help the nation.

– Act As Geographic Link, between urban and rural areas: • Commercialization occurs in metropolitan areas, rural areas and

internationally; R&D occurs primarily in metropolitan areas.

• UICR’s need to couple local research with geographic outreach in commercialization (e.g., combination research/trade shows that are advertised in, and draw from, an extended geographic region)

UCRC’s as a Bridge over the National “Valley of Death”: Bringing R&D to Commercialization

– Act As Sector Link, between large manufacturers and small suppliers:

• R&D increasingly left to small suppliers who do not have the resource base to conduct it.

• Centers can provide “Small supplier” membership categories; strive for vertical integration within center membership; frame meetings to include discussions of technology hand-offs; assist small suppliers in navigating the land mines of university IP.

I/UCRC’s Bridging the National “Valley of Death”: A Roadmap? A 60th Anniversary Meeting?

Extra Slides

Federal R&D Federal R&D $ - and nothing else -Dictates B.S. Student Production $

Year

Fed

eral

R&

D, $

M ,

non-

biom

edic

al(c

onst

ant 1

996

dolla

rs)

Bac

helo

r’s

Deg

rees

in P

hysi

cal S

cien

ces,

M

ath,

Eng

inee

ring

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

1955 1960 1965 1975 1985 19951970 1980 1990 2000

10,000

50,000

70,000

30,000

19601955 1965

1953-1968

dollars

students

20,000

80,000

60,000

100,000

40,000

1953-2000

dollars

students

Mayo, Brugggeman andSargent (2002)

How GUIRR fits in I/UCRC’s world: Government-University

• Contracts and Grants Issues– GUIRR provides: Federal Demonstration Partnership

– I/UCRC’s see: automatic carryover of grant funds from one year to the next; ability to move money freely between expenditure categories on grants; electronic signatures on grants (NSF); no pre-approval for travel . . .

• Debates on Funding Directions– GUIRR provides: workshop to DHS to define educational

opportunities in Homeland Security

– I/UCRC’s (may) see: potential new DHS programs or change in emphasis in existing ones.

How GUIRR fits in I/UCRC’s world:University-Industry

• Intellectual property rights (IP)– GUIRR Provides: Model agreements, “behavior

modification” project

– I/UCRC’s see: Model Agreements used to guide IP office paperwork; New-found flexibility in IP and Tech Transfer offices (we hope)

How GUIRR fits in I/UCRC’s world:Government-University-Industry

• National Competitiveness in an era of Globalization– GUIRR will provides discussion forum for G-U-I leaders,

potential white paper, potential survey of reasons why corporate R&D moves overseas

– Predict I/UCRC’s will see: new curricula and industry partnerships with increasingly international emphasis and awareness; global competition for students and corporate sponsors

How GUIRR fits in I/UCRC’s world:Government-University-Industry

• Science and Engineering Workforce– GUIRR Provides: Predecessor group to the NSTC

subcommittee effort on science and workforce; summit of 30+ non-profit organizations giving policy recommendations to the government

– I/UCRC’s see: New website at OMB cataloguing S&T internships and other federal programs for students (www.studentjobs.gov/e-scholar.asp); in PCAST and OSTP, shift in supply-side discussions of workforce to demand-side discussions.