Florida State's Federal Relations staff attends House briefing on The State of U.S. Science and Engineering. 

The National Science Board has recently published its 2020 Report on the State of U.S. Science and Engineering in which it concludes that while other countries around the world are rising in their overall contribution to research and development (R&D), the United States has remained the world leader in many STEM areas. This is much in part due to funding from the federal government and higher-learning institutions, like FSU, which comprise the majority of overall R&D funding. Florida State University’s federal relations staff was present at the board’s House of Representatives briefing to discuss the implications of the report on the future of Science and Engineering in the United States and what that signifies on the global stage.

The NSB pointed out China’s substantial progression in many categories relating to science and engineering. This includes their Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D that show China will soon pass the United States in upcoming years due to their annual growth rate being around 4x greater than that of the U.S. The board notes that this is not inherently bad as greater focus in STEM allows for more innovation and breakthroughs that will likely benefit the whole world. However, the report concludes that the United States should turn their attention to the workforce in science and engineering as an area that needs to be improved on. Women and minority groups are underrepresented in S&E. Further, foreign-born individuals (that hold a Masters or Doctorate degree) make up about a third of the S&E workforce.

Research & development performed by universities is key to maintaining the global position of the United States when it comes to science and engineering. Higher-education institutions, like Florida State University, drive basic research and training for new scientists and engineers. 

References and additional information:

Science and Engineering Indicators

Academic Research and Development in the United States

U.S. and Global Education

The White House

Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key position in his Administration:

Sethuraman Panchanathan of Arizona, to be the Director of the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Panchanathan currently serves as the Executive Vice President and the Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Arizona State University (ASU).  He is the Founding Director of the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing at ASU.  He was appointed to the National Science Board (NSB) in 2014 and served as the Chair of the Committee on Strategy for NSB.  He also served as a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  Dr. Panchanathan is the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).  He was the Chair of the Council on Research of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and Co-Chair of the Extreme Innovation Taskforce of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils.  He was appointed as Senior Advisor for Science & Technology by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey in 2018.  Dr. Panchanathan is a Fellow of the NAI, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Society of Optical Engineering.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Madras in 1981 and in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in 1984.  He then earned his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1986 and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Ottawa, Canada, in 1989.

As the annual appropriations process gets fully underway on Capitol Hill, Congressman Al Lawson joined 172 other House members in a letter to appropriators recommending a $9 billion FY20 budget for the National Science Foundation. The figure would represent an increase of 11.4% over the current NSF budget. The letter touches on the critical role that the basic research funded by NSF plays in promoting national security, public health, and economic growth. FSU is one of the top-10 public university recipients of NSF funding. The final NSF budget for FY20 will emerge after the next several months of negotiations over the overall federal budget and specific agency/program line-items.  

The National Science Foundation released information announcing its resumption of operations since the government shutdown. ... Read More