Innovation & Competitiveness

Washington Policy Reports

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Washington Policy Report: April 2012

National Defense University Releases Report on Globalization of Research
A recent report from the National Defense University (NDU) finds that America’s predominance in most fields of science and technology (S&T) is being increasingly challenged by a number of emerging regions. The report warns that as the future U.S. share of the global S&T enterprise decreases, DOD will have greater difficulty meeting its S&T needs and fewer U.S. scientists and engineers (S&E) will be available to work on national security problems.

Key findings and recommendations from the report include:

  • The U.S. share of S&T productivity will decline from about 26 percent in 2005 to about 18 percent in 2050.
  • DOD's ability to maintain an authoritative awareness of S&T developments around the world will become increasingly problematic. 
  • DOD will not have the fiscal resources to buy its way out of these problems by funding its own standalone program that is large enough to maintain insight into the global S&T program or to play catch up to a foreign effort that has gotten ahead. 
  • For DOD to succeed in meeting its S&T needs, it will be necessary to find a means to tap the knowledge of the larger U.S. S&T community regarding global S&T. 
  • The DOD S&T workforce must include the nation’s foremost scientists and engineers, and be plugged into the national S&T community broadly (and to the extent possible into the global S&T community). 
  • To accomplish this, the DOD in-house S&T workforce must be widely recognized for its contributions to the nation's S&T program. 
  • To make the most effective use of the DOD S&T workforce, it will be necessary to employ emerging tools for technology forecasting (TF) and data mining. 
  • DOD should work with various professional organizations and educational institutions to ensure that those receiving education related to participation in the future national S&T workforce consider the health of national defense to be among their civic responsibilities.

The entire NDU report is available at:
http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/docUploaded/DTP91%20Globalization%20of%20SandT.pdf

 

Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Examines NASA’s Aeronautics Research Activities
The House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing recently to review the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY) 2013 budget request submitted by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). 

Subcommittee Chairman Steven Palazzo (R-MS) opened the hearing noting, “Aeronautics research and development and the technologies they spin off are critical to our national security and to the ongoing success of our nation’s aerospace industrial base, which is our country’s greatest source of exports.  No other enterprise has played a greater role producing innovative aeronautics technologies than NASA.”  Chairman Palazzo went on to emphasize that U.S. leadership in aerospace industries is increasingly being challenged abroad, and this growth in competition comes at a time when NASA has been shrinking its overall investment in aeronautics research.  He noted, “Today aeronautics spending accounts for about 3 percent of NASA’s overall budget, compared to about 7 percent of the budget in FY2000.”

ARMD’s FY 2013 budget request was submitted as part of the NASA budget in mid-February, seeking $551.5 million for FY13, which is $17.9 million below its FY12 funding level.  While Senate appropriators have matched the President’s request, House appropriations leaders have allotted $569.9 million for NASA’s Aeronautics Research programs, half a million over the FY 2012 amount and $18.4 million over the President’s request.

NASA ARMD Associate Administrator Dr. Jaiwon Shin emphasized the importance of technological competitiveness in the aeronautics industry, “Business as usual is not going to guarantee the United States’ pre-eminence in the global market, nor will it enable us to meet these challenges. We must stay with our proven formula of staying ahead with our technological superiority.  Through the research we conduct and research we sponsor with universities and industry, we help to develop the technology that enables continuous innovation in aviation.” 

Full witness testimony and an archived webcast of the hearing is available at::  http://science.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-space-and-aeronautics-hearing-overview-nasa-aeronautics-research-mission

 

NASA Should Phase Out Lower-Priority Aeronautics Activities, Focus on Higher Risk, Higher Payoff Projects: NRC Report
At a time when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) aeronautics funding is at a historic low, the agency needs to restart its highly successful flight research program, rather than devote most of its efforts to small-scale research, says a new report from the National Research Council (NRC). To accomplish this, the report says the agency should phase out lower-priority aeronautics activities and select two to five programs with the greatest potential. Because flight research is a vital tool for aeronautics and has been neglected in recent years, NASA should ensure that each of these projects has a defined path to in-flight testing and that funding will be available to complete the in-flight research portion of the project in a timely manner. The report also urges improved communication and collaboration with key stakeholders in government and industry.

NASA's aeronautics program lacks the resources to accomplish the 51 high-priority goals it was urged to pursue in the most recent Research Council decadal survey, the report notes. However, given current budget pressures, NASA appears to be avoiding investments in flight research due to the costs and risks. The loss of flight research capabilities -- which are a vital tool for developing technology, proving and calibrating other research, and convincing industry, regulators, and the public that new inventions in aeronautics are effective and safe -- has hindered progress throughout NASA's aeronautics program. Restoring flight research and accelerating progress will require strategic direction from NASA headquarters, careful leadership, and tough decisions. It will also require NASA to cull its lower-priority aeronautics activities in order to free up funds.

In addition to the overwhelming amount of small-scale aeronautics projects at the agency, the report found that NASA has initiated many projects with no clear road map for how they would eventually be tested in the environment in which they would operate. Therefore, once the agency determines its top two to five projects, each should be given a defined path to flight testing that includes details of the vehicle to be used for flight research and ensures that funding will be available for this research stage.

The report examines case studies in three areas -- environmentally responsible aviation such as highly fuel-efficient aircraft, supersonics, and hypersonics -- as examples of programs where NASA already possesses the core research to make significant progress, provided the agency can allocate resources for the flight research phase.

To further enhance the agency's aeronautics progress in the current budget environment, the report emphasizes the need for collaboration with other governments, other U.S. agencies, and commercial companies engaged in aeronautics research. NASA should aggressively pursue collaboration and develop a formal process for regularly soliciting input from outside groups to assure its flight research programs are relevant to national needs.

The report, “Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities,” is available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13384

 

ASME Innovation and Competitiveness Position Statements

NIST Task Force Letter Supporting the TIP and AMTECH Programs
ID: PS11-21 ASME NIST Task Force letter supporting full funding for the Technology Innovation Program and American Manufacturing Technology Consortia at the National Institute of Standards And Technology (NIST) Issued By: NIST Task Force

ISCFRD DOD Task Force Position Statement on the FY 2012 Budget Request for the Department of Defense
ID: PS11-16 Provides funding rational and justification for DOD's core science and technology accounts in the FY 2012 budget request.

ASME Bioengineering Division Position Statement on the FY 2012 Budget Request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
ID: PS11-15 Supports the President's FY 2012 budget request for the NIH and the NIH's National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

ISCFRD NASA Task Force Position Statement on the FY 2012 Budget Request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ID: PS11-12 Supports revitalization of research at NASA as laid out in the President’s FY 2012 budget request. Emphasizes need for robust Investment in US aeronautics and aerospace research

Position statement of the ASME NIST Task force on the FY 2012 budget proposal for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
ID: PS11-10 Statement supports the funding for NIST labs and encourage the Administration to support previous efforts to support manufacturing funding and innovation through programs such as TIP and MEP

Coalition for National Security Research FY 2012 support letter
ID: PS11-09 Coalition letter of support for basic research activities at the Department of Defense (6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 research accounts)

Position statement of the ASME NSF Task force on the FY 2012 budget proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF)
ID: PS11-08 Statement supports FY 2012 funding for NSF research and education activities

Task Force on American Innovation Letter Supporting FY11 DOE Science and Education Budget Request
ID: PS11-07 Broad coalition letter of support for science and engineering research appropriations for FY 2011

ASME Letter from Bob Simmons to the U.S. House of Representatives Supporting DOE Office of Science
ID: PS11-06 ASME letter to support science, engineering, and STEM education projects in the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution, H.R. 1.

Engineering America's Future Economic Growth through Technical Innovation
ID: PS11-01 Document outlining history of nuclear power industry in the US and recommendations for continued use, and growth of the nuclear power industry moving forward.

Permanent Extension of the Research and Development Tax Credit
ID: PS10-26 This letter calls for a permanent extension and enhancement of the tax credit to place it in line with incentives offered by other leading OECD countries.

Support for Small Business Innovation Research Reauthorization
ID: PS10-25 Letter supporting the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

 

ASME Innovation and Competitiveness Briefings/Events

  • 2011 Engineering Public Policy Symposium, “STEM Education and the 21st Century Workforce” (5/17/2011)
  • Building the Future Today: How Scientific Research Drives Economic Growth and National Security (2/2/2011)
  • NASA Aeronautics Research & Development (9/29/2010)

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Current Innovation and Competitiveness Legislation

Materials Genome Initiative Professional Society Coalition Letter
ID: PS11-19 Professional society coalition letter to support the Obama Administration's proposed Materials Genome Initiative (MGI)

Letter of Endorsement to Senate and House Sponsors of the Engineering Education for the Innovation Economy Act
ID: PS11-05 Letter from the ASME Center for Public Awareness expressing support for the Engineering Education for the Innovation Economy Act (the E2 For Innovation Act)

Permanent Extension of the Research and Development Tax Credit
ID: PS10-26 This letter calls for a permanent extension and enhancement of the tax credit to place it in line with incentives offered by other leading OECD countries.

Support for Small Business Innovation Research Reauthorization
ID: PS10-25 Letter supporting the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

America COMPETES Reauthorization Act
This bipartisan legislation is fundamental to ensuring America’s long-term economic competitiveness and our continued leadership in basic research and science and engineering education initiatives through the robust reauthorization of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

For more detailed legislative bill information from the Library of Congress, please visit THOMAS http://thomas.loc.gov.

 

House and Senate Committees

 

Federal Agencies

 

Reports