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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National

Goals for a New Era (1993)

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64 pages | 8.5 x 11 | PDF

ISBN 978-0-309-57439-6 | DOI 10.17226/9481

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GET THIS BOOK Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy; National Academy of
Sciences; National Academy of Engineering; Institute of Medicine

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Institute of Medicine 1993. Science, Technology, and the Federal Government:

National Goals for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 9

CHAPTER 2
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY

About 200 years ago the pace of technological change in western society began to quicken. Wind, water,
and animal power, with their limitations of place and capacity, were supplemented and then replaced by the
steam engine, which went on to power the factories of the industrial revolution. The railroad made it possible to
move things and people quickly over great distances. The telegraph and, later, the telephone carried
communications across the countryside. Electric lighting supplanted the dim glow of candles, kerosene, and gas
lights.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the notion of progress was closely linked with technological
development, and that linkage intensified in the following decades. The automobile and the airplane changed not
only travel but the nature of our cities and towns. Radio and then television brought more of the outside world
into everyone’s homes. Knowledge about the causes of diseases brought new treatments and preventive
measures. Computers appeared, and soon the transistor made them smaller, more powerful, more accessible, and
cheaper.
Today, the system by which research and development leads to new products is fundamentally different
than it was in the nineteenth century. To the role of the individual inventor has been added the power of
organized scientific research and technological innovation. Organized research and development, which are
increasingly international in character, have greatly increased the production of new knowledge. Deeper
understanding of living organisms is leading toward cures of diseases once thought

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 10

untreatable. Basic insights in materials science enable the development of structures that are lighter, stronger,
and more durable than anything available before. The computer and novel modes of communication, such as
optical fibers, bring new, interactive modes of work and more capable machinery. These new devices and new
ways of working, in turn, speed the growth and dissemination of new knowledge.
The accumulation of scientific knowledge and new technologies has transformed human life. echnologies
have helped provide many—though far from all—people with standards of warmth, cleanliness, nutrition,
medical care, transportation, and entertainment far beyond those of even the wealthy two centuries ago.1 They
have also presented us with difficult questions about how to use science and technology most effectively to meet
human needs.
The rapid rate of material progress can continue, but it is not inevitable. The extent to which the products of
science and technology are useful depends on the needs of society. Each of the four areas discussed in this
chapter—industrial performance, health care, national security, and environmental protection—uses these
products in different ways. Progress is more likely if we understand these differences. Only then can we
effectively translate scientific and technical understanding into the techniques, tools, and insights that improve
the quality of our lives.

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN INDUSTRY

Industries differ in the manner and extent to which they use the results of research. Some, such as the
semiconductor industry, the biotechnology industry, and parts of the chemical industry, were created and shaped
almost entirely by ideas that grew out of science. The technologies at the heart of these industries were initially
characterized more by promise than by real products. Semiconductors were in this stage right after the invention
of the transistor; more recently, biotechnology went through

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 11

this stage after the development of recombinant DNA techniques. High-temperature superconductivity is a
scientific discovery that shows promise of leading to new industries and is in this stage today.
As science-based industries continue to develop, they remain closely dependent on continuous inputs of
new science, often produced by university researchers. These industries depend as well on the technological
development of these ideas in order to grow and to widen their range of products. At an early stage, these
industries tend to be small, to move at a fast technical and competitive pace, and to have enormous potential.
Biotechnology is now in this stage.
In a more mature stage, a science-based industry may still be growing quickly, but it depends ess on the
progress of academic scientists. The semiconductor industry, for example, moves at a fast technical pace and
requires increasingly detailed knowledge of its materials and, as the individual transistors buried in its chips
become ever smaller, even of new quantum phenomena. But its scientific needs are met almost entirely by the
work of semiconductor scientists and engineers working in the plants and laboratories of the semiconductor
companies. Indeed, industry scientists are often the only ones with the detailed knowledge needed to make
incremental improvements in the technologies.
Another example of an industry at a mature stage is the aircraft industry, where thousands of scientists and
engineers are required to deal with the enormous complexities of new plane design. Investments in
manufacturing tools and plants are often measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Only major companies can
act on this scale, and only they have the technological knowledge and experience needed to design these
complex products.
The most mature industries—for example, the automobile or construction industries—move at a slower
technological pace and require fewer inputs from current science, whether generated by their own laboratories or
by university research. Many of these

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 12

were not based on science even at their birth. They do, however, require the highest levels of technological and
production know-how.
For industries that rely on high technology but are technically self-contained (such as the semiconductor
industry) and industries that do not depend heavily on current science (such as the automobile industry), the
results of current fundamental research are generally not decisive. Japan, which has not been a leading research
power, has exhibited great strength in such industries. In these areas, productivity gains and product leadership
can be attained by a number of strategies largely separate from scientific research but highly dependent on
engineering, such as developing new technology in corporate laboratories, improving the development cycle to
hasten the marketing of improved products, better coordination of design and manufacture, maximizing the
creative capabilities of employees, and responding quickly to changes in consumer preferences. Additional
university research can help, but it will be of peripheral importance to such industries. Nor can research rescue a
failing industry that has difficulties in other areas.

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MEETING OTHER NATIONAL

OBJECTIVES
In addition to their influence on industrial performance, science and technology are directly involved in
efforts to achieve a number of other important national goals. As in the case of industry, many other factors must
also be in place for the goals to be achieved, but science and technology provide many of the crucial insights and
techniques that enable progress. The following sections briefly describe some of the linkages between science
and technology and several of these goals.

Health Care
Maintenance of health and prevention of illness are among the highest goals of our society. cience and
technology have

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 13

become critical factors in achieving those goals, and the health sciences—including the life sciences, health
services research, and public health research—will remain vital elements in the promotion of the nation’s well-
being.
In health care, as in other areas, science and technology are embedded in much broader social and
institutional structures. For example, a research discovery can lead to experimental products in a very short time.
Yet those products may require very long lead times to bring to market because of the need to ensure their safety
and efficacy.
The most visible public policy issue in health care today is cost.2 Many of the medical products generated
by research and development, such as vaccines, actually reduce total health care costs. Other new products
derived from research and development, such as complex imaging devices and expensive surgical procedures,
raise costs in the short term while enhancing overall care. Still other procedures reduce unit treatment costs, but
these reductions make treatments more available and thus increase demand and total costs.
The development and pricing of health care products are unusual for a number of reasons. In a normal
market economy, differences in the costs of technologies are reflected in the level of use. But our current system
of health care reimbursement insulates patients from the true costs. In addition, the government directly regulates
many aspects of medical technology to ensure safety and control costs, further distorting market signals. Finally,
health care involves such basic human conditions as birth, disease, and ultimately death. Under such conditions,
individual consumers often ignore economic considerations; yet the total cost of health care is a matter of
enormous national concern.
The effects of technical progress on costs depend to a large extent on the social and institutional structures
surrounding the health care system. As the nation undertakes a broad reassessment of its health care system, a
central challenge is to create administra

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 14

tive structures that promote the development of medical technology while improving care and containing costs.

National Security
Since World War II, the United States has sought military advantage through technological rather than
numerical superiority. For example, technological superiority in the hands of a well-trained military contributed
greatly to the success of the Persian Gulf War.
The United States will continue to rely on this strategy to retain military advantage, but the sources of new
military technology are shifting.3 In the past, the segment of industry that has supplied both hardware and
software to the U.S. military has been largely separate from civilian industry. This segment of industry has had
essentially one customer, and its requirements were focused on product performance more strongly than on cost.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the defense industry produced much technology of value to civilian industry. But
today the technological sophistication of civilian industry in many cases surpasses that of the defense industry.
As a result, the military has become more dependent on civilian technologies. This trend will make
improvements in national security more dependent on overall national economic performance.
A major challenge facing the military today is to maintain technological superiority in the face of declining
defense budgets. Meeting this challenge will require a reexamination of the broad scientific and technological
base that contributes to military needs, including research and development in government laboratories, in
industry, and in universities.

Environmental Protection
Over the past two decades, the United States has recognized and has made substantial progress in curbing
the degradation of the environment. Nevertheless, difficult problems remain.

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 15

Environmental degradation continues to accompany many aspects of economic growth. Emissions and effluents
of contaminated materials continue, waste disposal plagues urban areas, forests continue to be devastated, and
biodiversity losses are growing. At the same time, science and technology have exposed new issues of great
complexity and uncertain consequences, such as global warming, acid precipitation, the destruction of the
stratospheric ozone layer, and the contamination of water supplies.
By the middle of the twenty-first century, the human population is projected to double to around 11 billion
people, and, to meet their basic needs, the global economy will need to be several times larger than it is now.4
Many industrial and agricultural practices and products used today in energy and food production, transportation,
and manufacturing will need to be restructured to prevent pollution if sustainable economic growth is to be
achieved. In some situations, existing technologies can be made cleaner and more efficient; in others, entirely
new technologies, including energy technologies, will be needed.
Almost all fields of science and technology can contribute to the reduction of environmental degradation.
Biotechnology, materials science and engineering, and information technologies can enable the efficient use of
raw materials and prevent pollution at the source. Reducing and preventing pollution is an important goal of the
new field of industrial ecology, which, by examining industrial processes, strives to maintain sustainable
technological growth.5

COMMON THEMES
These examples demonstrate that science and technology are powerful determinants of the conditions of
modern life but that they clearly are not the only determinants. Nevertheless, even if science and technology are
not sufficient by themselves to resolve societal issues, they are necessary for progress. Industry, for example,
now relies heavily on technology to raise productivity;

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Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for a New Era

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN SOCIETY 16

economic studies show that more than half the per capita productivity increases in the United States since World
War II have come from technological advances. Although such factors as better skills among workers and new
methods of organizing production will continue to contribute to economic expansion, new technologies will
continue to be the major force behind the generation of new wealth.
Similarly, many new technologies are increasingly reliant on science—whether the new science emerging
from research laboratories or the well-established science available to everyone with the necessary training.
Engineering, increasingly science-based, could not have achieved its present level of sophistication without its
base of scientific knowledge. This increasing integration of science and technology also applies in reverse:
technological problems now inspire important areas of science, even as science broadens the scope and
capabilities of technology.
Given the fact that science and technology are necessary, but not sufficient, elements of human progress, we
as a nation face important questions: How great an investment in science and technology should we make to
meet national needs? How can we best measure national performance in science and technology? The committee
turns to these questions next.

REFERENCES
1. William J. Baumol, Sue Anne Batey Blackman, and Edward N. Wolff. Productivity and American Leadership: The Long View.
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1989.
2. Annetine C. Gelijns and Ethan A. Halm, Eds. The Changing Economics of Medical Technology. Washington, D.C.:National Academy
Press, 1991.
3. Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, Task Force on National Security. NewThinking and American Defense
Technology. New York: Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, 1990.
4. George Heaton, Robert Repetto, and Rodney Sobin. TransformingTechnology: An Agenda for Environmentally Sustainable Growth in the
21st Century. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute, 1991.
5. “Papers from the NAS Colloquium on Industrial Ecology,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 89, No. 3 (February 1,
1992), pp. 793–1148.

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