Technology Policy
Don’t let the RD tax credit slip away
September 16, 2010 5:34 am | by Pamela Villarreal and Michael Barba | Blogs | CommentsIn 1981, the U.S. enacted the most generous R&D tax credit in the world, but since then it has fallen behind other nations and has kept companies guessing by adopting a stop-and-go approach to renewing the credit. Making these credits permanent, and expanding their scope, can only have positive effects on the nation’s GDP.
Worldwide R&D expenditures top $330 billion
May 26, 2010 8:25 am | by Paul Livingstone | White PapersAbout 40,000 companies received questionnaires from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008. The results from this report, the first of its kind to gauge R&D performance on a global scale, show that the U.S. economy supports a higher level of domestic R&D ($234 billion) than some had thought.
A well-oiled machine
May 18, 2010 9:16 am | by Paul Livingstone | Blogs | CommentsVisit one of Florida’s premier tourist destinations (no, not Disney) and it’s a little hard to believe there’s a countdown unrelated to a rocket launch. Nearly everything at Kennedy Space Center is designed to show visitors that not only does NASA has a rich history of space exploration, it’s still going strong as the world’s premiere launch facility.
Reinventing technology assessment for the 21st century
April 29, 2010 7:44 am | White PapersThe authors of a new report from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars claim that the ability to estimate the social, ethical, legal, and economic impacts of emerging technologies and science is missing from our national perspective. They advocate the creation of a new institution that would assess national technology capability.
With Innovation from Russia?
April 12, 2010 9:52 am | Blogs | CommentsIf we needed any further proof of the inferiority complex Russia seems to be continually chafing under, Viktor Vekselberg, one of the country’s most successful oligarchs, has been placed in charge of the new Kremlin effort to create a Russian Silicon Valley.
A rough ride: the green energy rollercoaster
April 9, 2010 8:31 am | by Paul Livingstone | Blogs | CommentsThe economic stimulus of 2009 was partly supposed inject a little nitrous oxide into the burgeoning green energy sector. But the jury's still out on whether green energy is the future of U.S. jobs. And we’re still not sure which green jobs those will be.
The Future of Industrial R & D
February 16, 2010 10:22 am | by Mark Dean, IBM Fellow and Vice President of Technical Strategy, IBM Research | Articles | CommentsEven in an age where swift return on investment is paramount and where expenditures are tightly controlled, there is still a thirst for research projects that are bold in their scope, grand in their challenge, and seminal in their results. Novel ways and strategies for collaborating put such goals within our grasp.
Calling all aerospace contractors, your funding is ready
February 2, 2010 7:02 am | Blogs | CommentsMonday was probably a bittersweet day for NASA. Told that it would no longer be following President Bush’s lunar comeback effort or even launching its own astronauts into space, the agency must now look to contractors for their escape velocity needs.
Laying the foundation: Burj RD
January 7, 2010 5:32 am | by Paul Livingstone | Blogs | CommentsRemember the sharp words between the two greenhouse gas heavyweights at Copenhagen earlier this year over whether China was still a developing country? From China's point of view, they are far from done "developing", and it has little to do with emissions. Instead, the core of their economy is clearly intended to be intellectual know-how that outstrips all others.
Govt. Labs See Bright Future, For Now
December 22, 2009 9:40 am | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsTo say that the outlook for government R&D laboratory executives is brighter for 2010 than 2009 would be a great understatement. At this time last year most laboratories were scrambling to adjust to a short-term financial upheaval brought about by an across-the-board freeze on budgets until March 2009.
Re-Emerging U.S. R & D
December 22, 2009 6:29 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsThe Battelle/R&D Magazine team forecasts the U.S. R&D environment will begin to re-emerge in 2010, with total R&D spending reaching $401.9 billion, up 3.27% over the final 2009 estimate of $389.2 billion.
A Battelle Perspective On Investing In Innovation
December 22, 2009 6:23 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsWhether you’re talking about a company or a country, the future holds critical challenges that will require innovative science and technology solutions.
Technology Leadership: Do Perceptions Alter Reality?
December 22, 2009 6:10 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsThough the readership of this publication may be somewhat biased, the public at large would likely agree that advanced technologies play a significant role in corporate and U.S. competiveness now and in the future. Yet, the relationships among R&D investment recipients, the importance of technology, and view of corporate and U.S. competiveness are murky at best.
Federal R & D: The Stimulus Hangover
December 22, 2009 5:59 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsWith final appropriations bills still undecided, R&D funding, combined with the Administration’s budget in the remaining departments and agencies, totals currently at $147.9 billion, which is an increase of 0.56%. Unless there are some significant Congressional additions, we are headed toward a baseline FY2010 federal budget that fails to keep up with inflation.
Global Perspective: Emerging Nations Gain R & D Ground
December 22, 2009 5:37 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsOver the past two years, the traditional leaders of R&D—the U.S., Europe, and Japan—have struggled to maintain the basic essentials of their economies and have seen their overall R&D programs slide in relation those of emerging economies. The big emerging nations—China, India, and Brazil—were not immune to the global recession.
Global R & D Funding Forecast Resources
December 22, 2009 4:14 am | by Martin Grueber, Research Leader, Battelle, Cleveland, Ohio and Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, Advantage Business Media | Articles | CommentsThe following Web sites are good sources of information related to the global R&D enterprise
A Galaxy of Spinoffs
September 29, 2009 9:32 am | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsThrough partnerships and spinoffs, NASA engineers advances in medicine, safety, and deep space observation.
Another Tool in the Toolbox
September 29, 2009 9:18 am | by Larisa Brass, Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Articles | CommentsPrivate funding for technology maturation will help enable better commercialization of governmental scientific research. However compelling the technology, a gap often exists between government-funded research and its transfer to the marketplace. As a research project nears completion, federal dollars often dry up before an invention has progressed enough to spin out as a commercial product. Enter technology maturation funds, the means by which many promising technologies make needed advances toward becoming commercial products.
A Strong Future for Independent Research
February 23, 2009 7:03 am | by Martha Walz | Articles | CommentsDespite the current economic downturn, independent research organizations remain optimistic. For the tenth consecutive year, the editors of R&D Magazine interviewed the CEOs of the leading independent R&D laboratories in the U.S. to determine the challenges and opportunities they face.
Advances in Experimentation for Improving Products and Processes
June 18, 2008 6:05 am | by John Sall, Co-found and Executive VP of SAS and head of the JMP software division | Articles | CommentsComputing has revolutionized our testing capacity, but efficient design of experimentation remains a valuable tool for success.
Technology Will Continue to be the Driver of Change
June 18, 2008 6:05 am | by Tim Studt | Articles | CommentsFrom the late-1950s to now, R&D Magazine has been proud to provide you with new products and technologies. But, take a look at what’s still to come.
FDA Gives Go Ahead to Digital Pathology
February 26, 2008 4:36 am | by Adria Nieswand | Articles | CommentsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, Md., has given Aperio Technologies, Inc., Vista, Calif., the green light to market the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) complete image analysis application-the ScanScope XT digital slide system.
Government and Industrial R & D Face Challenges
January 31, 2008 7:00 pm | by Jules Duga, PhD, Senior Research Scientist; Martin Grueber, Senior Research Scientist; Battelle, Columbus, Ohio. Tim Studt, Editor in Chief, R&D Magazine | Articles | CommentsAn internal Battelle survey draws upon the views and experiences of staff who are closely involved with the conduct of research that supports a wide range of government and industrial clients.
World’s Best R & D Companies
October 24, 2007 6:08 am | by Tim Studt | Articles | CommentsCorporate research and development has become a global operation, with most large, and even small, companies maintaining and building R&D operations in far-flung offices. U.S.-based IBM, for example, is now said to have more scientists and engineers in India than it has in the U.S. Similarly, a number of large European and Asian pharmaceutical companies have more research resources in the U.S. than they do in their home countries to support the world's largest healthcare market and researcher base.
The 10 Rules of Technology Transfer
February 13, 2004 6:02 am | Articles | CommentsClick on image to enlarge. More engineering-related issues are cited in a recent R&D Magazine survey due to its involvement in product development areas. Click on image to enlarge.
