While the US remains the world’s science and technology powerhouse, spending more than $264 billion annually on R&D and financing 44% of all global R&D, the country’s leadership position could be threatened by continuing problems in K–12 education, the lack of federal support for basic research, and improved science programs in other nations. That is the bottom-line conclusion of the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 report, the latest of the biennial “state of science” studies done for the White House and Congress.
The lengthy NSB report, based on data developed by the NSF’s Division of Science Resources Statistics, provides an in-depth look at everything from the state of elementary and secondary education to global competitiveness of individual industries. The 2002 report drew primarily on data from 1990 to 2000 and is a blend of both good and bad news.
“As the 21st century begins, the United States...
