Chapter h

-President Bill Clinton

T

hroughout time, humans have pondered the

nature of the universe and the laws that order it, seeking to understand our world and our place in the cosmos. Curiosity and the quest for understanding punctuate all human growth and learning, beginning with our childhood questions: "What is it?" "How does it work?" "What happens if...?" Basic (or fundamental) research seeks to answer these and other questions in all scientific fields. Basic research usually does not have a specific practical benefit in mind; it simply helps us understand the way things are and generates new ideas and questions about the unknown. It has taught us about the evolution of the physical universe, the evolution of life, and a wealth of other topics.

Inevitably, however, the results of basic research are prerequisites for many advances that substantially improve our lives. No one could anticipate that:

early studies of the DNA molecule would lead to genetic engineering to develop new and effective drugs, more productive crops, and more nutritious foods;

ultra-precise atomic clocks invented to test the laws of physics would become the heart of the Global Positioning System now a multi-billion-dollar business used for navigation, emergency rescue, tracking commercial vehicles, and perhaps soon for air traffic control;

• basic research on the way liquids pass through holes would lead to improved fuel injection systems for cars, ink-jet printers, and artificial heart valves;

⚫ basic studies of the attitudes and behaviors of tens of millions of military personnel over decades would lay the foundation for many of today's high-performance business management practices;

• engineering experiments on microelectromechanical systems would create a billion-dollar industry providing acceleration sensors for automobile air bags, and many other products;

⚫ fundamental research on magnetism would transform our society, making our information age possible through tape recorders, video cassette recorders, and everything else that records and stores information; or

• decades of research in basic physics and chemistry would provide the sophisticated tools essential for molecular biology, genome sequencing, and advanced medical diagnosis and treatment.

Although it is virtually impossible to predict specifically how today's basic research results will eventually improve our quality of life, or to imagine the new industries and markets that will emerge, there is no question that such improvements and industries will arise. America's scientists and engineers are working

in universities, industrial laboratories, research institutes, and national laboratories on important research. Their results will transform our lives in the twenty-first century, just as we now reap the harvest from past discoveries. Our children and grandchildren will look back with the same wonder we experience today at the myriad ways frontier basic research has advanced society.

The Administration's commitment to basic research derives from a clear and positive vision for the future prosperity of our nation and a strong belief that by creating knowledge and a well-educated citizenry, we gain the power to shape our future. Therefore, the Administration has championed Federal investments in science and technology, stressing repeatedly that science fuels technology's engine -- the engine of economic growth that creates jobs, builds new industries, and improves our standard of living. Moreover, a significant component of Federally sponsored research is performed in colleges and universities, where young scientists and engineers are trained in the process of creating new knowledge.

OUR NATIONAL GOALS FOR SCIENCE

To advance America's interests in science, mathematics, and engineering, the Administration set forth the following goals in its 1994 science policy statement, Science in the National Interest:

To sustain leadership across the frontiers of scientific knowledge.

• To enhance connections between fundamental research and broad national goals.

To stimulate partnerships that promote investments in fundamental science and engineering and effective use of physical, human, and financial

resources.

• To produce the finest scientists and engineers for the twenty-first century.

To raise the scientific and technological literacy of all Americans.

Achieving these goals will ensure that our nation has the specialized human resources as well as the modern infrastructure needed for cutting-edge science and technology. The science and technology enterprise weaves a vast and variegated fabric of knowledge, ideas, devices, and questions that covers a broad range of human curiosity and innovation.

This report is organized around these science policy goals, and this chapter focuses on leadership in the generation of fundamental knowledge that defines basic science. The chapters on technology, health, environment, and national security capture the partnerships and connections that harness new knowledge, helping us reach those overarching national goals. The chapter on human resources addresses the production of the world's best scientists and engineers, and the need to improve public literacy in science and technology.

There is a solid consensus that maintaining the human resources and modern infrastructure essential for scientific leadership is a fundamental Federal responsibility. Thus, public funding of research and development traditionally has enjoyed strong, bipartisan support. Government investments provide worldclass facilities, promote scientific breakthroughs and interdisciplinary linkages among the major science and engineering fields, and train talented people to tackle emerging scientific challenges. As corporate R&D laboratories have increasingly favored applied research and development projects likely to improve competitiveness in the near term, the Federal government has become

the dominant sponsor of the nation's long-term, basic research portfolio. The Administration has embraced this role by continuing to support the basic science programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. These programs are vital to our nation's future, as are those at the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Commerce (DOC), Interior (DOI), and other Federal agencies with targeted missions. Between FY 1993 and the Administration's FY1998 budget request, Federal investment in basic research has risen from $13.36 billion to $15.30 billion - an increase of 14.5 percent.

This diversity of Federal sources of research funding and the rich variety of institutions and organizations conducting the research are two of the strengths contributing to U.S. leadership across the scientific frontiers. Universities and colleges where education proceeds synergistically with the creation of new knowledge consistently perform about one-sixth of all Federally funded R&D, and over half of our basic research. Federal laboratories, nonprofit research institutes, and industrial firms are also major players. The laboratories of DOE, NIH, NASA, and USDA, particularly, are deeply integrated into America's fundamental science enterprise in their mission areas. Rich in human talent and engineering capability, these Federal laboratories are renowned for unique, state-of-theart scientific facilities, instruments, and other resources, operated for and made available to the national scientific community. Of course, a major component of the R&D portfolios of these laboratories, as well as those of DOD, DOC, and other agencies, serves their overriding missions to ensure national security, and to promote technological progress, health, environmental quality, and food supply as described in the other chapters of this report.

Most important, the people actively engaged in the quest to understand the unknown power our innovation system. They recognize, pursue, and exploit breakthroughs, no matter where in the world they are made.