By Larry Bernard
Investments in research and education are essential for the nation's well-being and budget priorities should reflect that, a Cornell engineer told a congressional panel on March 6.
"There is no investment that is more essential for our nation's future well-being than investments in research and education," John E. Hopcroft, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering told lawmakers. "If we do not build on the achievements that science and engineering research have made possible, we may well jeopardize the momentum we have built since World War II."
Hopcroft testified on behalf of the National Science Board (NSB), the governing body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), at the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies, which funds the NSF. The subcommittee is chaired by U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and includes Rep. James Walsh (R-N.Y.), who represents Onondaga, Cortland and Broome counties. Hopcroft is a member of the NSB and chairs its Committee on Programs and Plans. His remarks preceded testimony by Neal Lane, director of the NSF.
Hopcroft, addressing the panel as it considers the federal budget and appropriations for research in science, technology and engineering, said three key policy goals should guide national research investments.
"The first recognizes that the exponential growth in scientific opportunities we are experiencing will not be matched by similar growth in federal resources," he said. "Prudence demands that we set priorities in accordance with budget realities."
He suggested, though, that not all federal spending is equivalent, and that the "benefits that investments in research will provide over the mid- to long-term require special consideration."
The second goal, Hopcroft said, "is to assure the preparation of a work force that is scientifically and technologically literate." The NSB, he said, recognizes that "investments in science, mathematics, engineering and technology education are critical to keeping the nation competitive" and that these investments must impact all levels of society.
Another goal, said Hopcroft, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is to "strengthen the integration of education and research at colleges and universities. The unique combination of education and research in our higher education system has been a cornerstone of our success in providing students access to new knowledge and rapidly diffusing it throughout the nation. The spirit, energy and productivity of a discovery-based system of learning must be extended to all levels of education."
These goals are derived from an NSB statement issued in January on the importance of considering the interconnections among all federally funded research activities and "the unintended impact that budgeting decisions for one agency may have on each of the others," Hopcroft said.
Lane, a physicist by training, former provost at Rice University and now director of the NSF, told Congress about his efforts to get the scientific community to communicate the results of their labors to the public at large. He also said it would be wrong to look to the private sector to make the kinds of discoveries that federally funded science has made over the past 50 years.
"Every industrialized nation recognizes that it is unrealistic to expect the private sector to make the long-term and risky investments required to pursue these lines of research," Lane told the panel. "This is particularly true when the outcomes of the research may be in totally unexpected areas -- areas that any given industry may not be capable of applying profitably."