Government Policy
Industrial R&D—Chemicals & Advanced Materials
December 17, 2012 7:33 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsChemicals and advanced materials comprise a broad sector that includes chemicals, catalysts, polymers, metals, ceramics, and nanomaterials—from products sold by the trainload to those that cost hundreds of dollars per gram. It is an innovation-intensive business: for example, the U.S. chemical industry is responsible for over one tenth of all patents filed in the United States.
The Internationalization of R&D
December 17, 2012 7:15 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsR&D investments have become highly competitive between nations, with each looking to outspend the others to maintain a competitive edge. This internationalization of R&D now pits the U.S., China, Japan, and the EU against each other to develop breakthrough technologies that can be developed into marketable products that can build their country's export trade.
BRIC - Brazil
December 17, 2012 7:08 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsWhile strictly categorized as an emerging nation by the IMF, the Federative Republic of Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country in geographic size and population and sixth overall in gross domestic product (GDP). By 2040, Brazil’s economy is forecast to be the fourth largest in the world, behind China, the U.S., and India.
BRIC - Russia
December 17, 2012 6:59 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsGross domestic expenditures on R&D (GERD) in the Russian Federation nearly doubled (at constant prices) from 1998 to 2008, one of the highest growth rates at that time. Russia's 2013 R&D is forecast to grow to $38.5 billion, a 4.0% increase over the $37 billion spent in 2012.
BRIC - India
December 17, 2012 6:47 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsIndia has averaged greater than 7% annual GDP growth since 1997, but the current outlook is unusually uncertain. Real GDP growth for 2012 is expected to be close to 5%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
BRIC - China
December 17, 2012 6:37 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsContinuing the trend it established more than a decade ago, China's commitment to R&D is expected to increase 11.6% in 2013, following an 11.3% increase in 2012. China's R&D is now 52% of that expected to be spent by the U.S. in 2013, compared to 43% just two years ago.
Europe
December 17, 2012 6:29 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsHalf of the Top 40 R&D spending countries in the world are in Europe, but they only account for 22.6% of the total global spending. Another 14 European countries increase that spending by $10.7 billion (23.4% of the global total).
Rest of the World
December 17, 2012 6:19 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsThe U.S., BRIC, and European countries account for about 70% of the R&D performed in the world. Countries in the rest-of-the-world (ROW) account for the remaining $500 billion. These countries are increasing their R&D investments at an average rate of nearly 5%.
A View of the World of R&D
December 17, 2012 6:07 pm | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle and Tim Studt, Editorial Director, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsWe present the results of our annual survey of the global researcher community. Improvements in the sampling strategy and distribution of the survey continue to increase and diversify the respondent base. This diversity provides a unique perspective on the global R&D community representing countries from Argentina to Vietnam.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: NanoSteel
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from NanoSteel. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: RTI International
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from RTI International. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: NASA Glenn Research Center
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from NASA Glenn Research Center. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: University of Dayton Research Institute
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from the University of Dayton Research Institute. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable: Southwest Research Institute
December 14, 2012 11:25 am | Articles | Comments2012 R&D Research Executive Roundtable answers from Southwest Research Institute. Changes in the R&D environment are driving research managers to look at different ways to support and grow their organizations.
Science and engineering students petition Congress to stop sequestration
December 7, 2012 9:33 am | News | CommentsMandatory cuts to federal funding as outlined in the Budget Control Act, known as sequestration, will take place in early January, unless Congress takes action. More than 6,000 science and engineering students have hand-delivered a petition to the local offices of U.S. senators and House leaders, requesting that sequestration be halted because it would harm their future as innovators and hurt economic growth in the United States.
Fast-growing fish may never wind up on your plate
December 5, 2012 10:45 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsAfter weathering concerns about everything from the safety of humans eating the salmon to their impact on the environment, Aquabounty was in a position to become the world's first company to sell fish whose DNA has been altered to speed up growth. But after positive feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, the agency still has not approved the fish and the company could soon run out of money.
Official backs studying quake risks at nuke plants
November 9, 2012 4:51 pm | by Ray Henry, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn March, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission instructed power companies to re-evaluate the seismic and flooding hazards that their power plants face. Recent earthquakes in the eastern U.S., coupled with evidence of the results of the 2011 earthquake in Japan, have highlighted the importance of this effort in order to implement new design measures.
Judge backs NASA lab in work discrimination case
November 5, 2012 10:32 am | News | CommentsA California judge has tentatively ruled in favor of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former computer specialist who alleged he was singled out in part because of his belief in intelligent design.
China rare earths producer suspends output
October 25, 2012 2:50 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina's biggest rare earths producer, state-owned Baotou Steel Rare Earth (Group) Hi-tech Co., in an effort to shore up plunging prices of the materials used by makers of mobile phones and other high-tech products. Beijing is tightening control over rare earths mining and exports to capture more of the profits that flow to Western makers of lightweight batteries and other products made of rare earths.
Food vs. fuel: Is there surplus land for bioenergy?
October 18, 2012 8:37 am | News | CommentsIncreasing demand for bioenergy feedstock is generating land-use conflicts and food vs. fuel controversies. An team of 11 scientists from seven European countries and the United States have recently published a study that gives scientific background to the debate. It supports a reassessment of the land available for bioenergy feedstock production.
Restricting nuclear power has little effect on the cost of climate policies
October 2, 2012 9:03 am | News | CommentsApplying a global energy-economy computer simulation that fully captures the competition between alternative power supply technologies, a team of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the University of Dayton, Ohio, analyzed trade-offs between nuclear and climate policies. They found that incremental costs due to policy options restricting the use of nuclear power do not significantly increase the cost of even stringent greenhouse-gas emissions reductions.
Researchers make call for specialty metals recycling
September 24, 2012 2:56 pm | News | CommentsAccording to recent paper published by Yale University scientists, an international policy is needed for recycling scarce specialty metals that are critical in the production of consumer goods. Specialty metals account for more than 30 of the 60 metals on the periodic table, and their rapidly accelerating usage in many industries makes the complete lack of recycling a concern.
Study: Tradeoffs needed in battling urban heat island effects
September 11, 2012 4:15 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers from Arizona State University have found that warming resulting from megapolitan expansion is seasonally dependent, with greatest warming occurring during summer and least during winter. Painting the roofs of buildings white can combat this effect, but not without consequences for the region’s hydroclimate.
EPA releases nanomaterial case study regarding nanoscale silver
August 6, 2012 6:05 am | News | CommentsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed and published a comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA) framework study of engineered nanoscale silver, specifically with regard to its behavior in disinfectant sprays. Though not a formal assessment, many factors such as product life cycle, environmental transport and fate, exposure-dose in receptors, and potential impacts in these receptors are covered in the report.
