Is the United States in danger of losing its competitive edge in science and technology?

In response to this concern, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness asked RAND to convene a meeting, held on November 8, 2006, to review evidence presented by experts from academia, government, and the private sector. The papers presented at the meeting addressed a wide range of issues surrounding the United States' current and future S&T competitiveness, including science policy, the quantitative assessment of S&T capability, globalization, the rise of Asia (particularly China and India), innovation, trade, technology diffusion, the increase in foreign-born S&T students and workers in the United States, new directions in the management and compensation of federal S&T workers, and national security and the defense industry.

These papers provide a partial survey of the facts, challenges, and questions posed by the potential erosion of US S&T capability.