For more than half a century, the U.S. has been in a dominant position relative to the absolute amount of resources that has been invested in Research and Development (R&D). Coming out of the experiences of World War II and a realization of the impact that R&D can have on the national welfare, significant efforts were initiated in terms of both the government financial support of R&D and the development of formal institutions and processes for the continuing conduct of research. Throughout this entire period, there has been a continuing increase in the extent to which both the federal government and private industry have devoted resources and manpower to the expansion of scientific knowledge, the applications of this knowledge to the resolution of problems, the expansion of the economy, and the stretching of the imagination...

Click here to see the entire story [pdf]