America still produces some of the most well respected science, but with the growth seen in Asia, that may not be the case for much longer, according to new data released from the National Science Foundation (NSF) today (15 January).

"Science and technology is no longer the providence of rich developed countries," said Rolf Lehming, director of NSF's Science &Engineering Indicators (S&EI) Program, during a press conference on Wednesday. "That opens up opportunities for collaboration. It also brings competitive elements into play," he added.

Image: Wikipedia

At 1.47 million, the number of researchers in the United States is still the highest of all the regions surveyed, but the overall growth from 1995 to 2008 was 3%. The growth in number of researchers in China over the same period was 8.7%, with 1.42 million today, and no signs of slowing, said Lehming.

"The time that we had a monopoly on talent, if there ever was such a time, is behind us," Lehming added.

The Science and Engineering Indicators are rolled out every two years and represent the most current data available (usually 1-2 years old). For the first time (that I've seen), the NSF is presenting its data in user-friendly online format that pulls out some of the most interesting observations in eye-catching interactive graphics.

Some of the other trends discussed this year include:

● In the US, industry accounts for nearly 80% of R&D funding, whereas the government funds only about 20%.

● However, at 60%, the federal government still provides the highest percentage of funding for basic research, with universities and colleges providing about 20%, and industry trailing at 5.5%. That industry figure represents a decline of about 1.5% from 1990.

● Of all the fields funded by federal money, life science gets the biggest slice of the pie with $29.7 billion according to 2008 numbers. The second highest field, engineering, gets a mere $9.35 billion.

● As a point of comparison, defense research gets $81.05 billion.

● In terms of output, the US still leads the world in number of science and engineering publications per year, with nearly 209,000 in 2007. Still as a combined entity, the 27 countries in the EU produced the most with 245,000 publications.

● The US also still holds the world record for patents issued in 2007 at 82,000; the majority of those came from the biological sciences (50%). The second highest patent recipient is Japan with 34,600.


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