Abstract:bible of science and technology statistics-U.S. National Board's biennial & Engineering Indicators-has just been published (1). Among many other features, the 426 pages and 265 tables and charts in th...bible of science and technology statistics-U.S. National Board's biennial & Engineering Indicators-has just been published (1). Among many other features, the 426 pages and 265 tables and charts in the two-volume 2004 edition provide ample evidence of the growing competitive strength of China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Scientists in these countries, the report notes, are: * Producing a growing share of the S&T articles published in leading journals, while the share continues to decline. * Involved in more regional scientific collaborations (centered on China). * Gaining more patents (up from 2 to 12 percent of patents granted between 1988 and 2001). These economies themselves are: * Expanding their world market share of high-tech production. * Gaining on the and all other major industrial nations in high-tech exports, climbing to nearly 30 percent of the global share. * Producing more engineering and natural science degrees. * Have already in place, are instituting, policies and incentives to retain their highly trained graduates, attract expatriates or otherwise benefit from their nationals working abroad, chiefly in the United States. In short, The rest of the world is catching up, the National Foundation's long-time analyst John E. Jankowski says. Science excellence is no longer the domain of just the U.S. Call for More Talent The United States is in a long-distance race to retain its essential global advantage in S&E human resources and sustain our world leadership in science and technology, said NSB Chair Warren M. Washington. For many years we have benefited from minimal competition in the global S&E labor market, but attractive and competitive alternatives are now expanding around the world. We must develop more fully our native talent. In a companion piece to Indicators 2004 (2), the NSB finds in the available statistics an emerging and critical for the science and engineering labor force. problem lies in current trends that, if left unchecked, show the number of citizens qualified for science and engineering jobs will be level at best, the NSB notes. At the same time, the nation may be unable to rely on foreign citizens to fill the gap, either because of limits to entry because of intense foreign competition for those skills. Indicators 2004 shows, for example, that the now ranks 17th among nations surveyed in the proportion of its 18-24-year-olds earning natural science and engineering degrees. In 1975, it ranked third. Record levels of foreign-born scientists and engineers have helped make possible the rising S&E employment in the past several decades. …Read More
Publication Year: 2004
Publication Date: 2004-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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