| David A. Sampson
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development “The Innovation Continuum” – A Conference hosted by the Council on Competitiveness & Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York 20040908 | | (Introduction by Shirley Ann Jackson, President, RPI)Thank you President Jackson for that kind introduction. It's a great pleasure to be with you here today at the nation’s oldest technological university. I want to congratulate and thank Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Council on Competitiveness for hosting this event. I’m delighted to participate on the Advisory Board of the National Innovation Initiative with so many distinguished colleagues. As we meet here today to focus on innovation, we have good reason to be optimistic about the economy. President Bush’s policies are working. The economy is growing and creating good jobs for America’s workers. For twelve consecutive months American payrolls have added jobs. The 144,000 new jobs created in August, combined with upward revisions for June and July, brings the total to 1.7 million new jobs since this time last year. Over the past twelve months we`ve seen homeownership in America reach record highs. We`ve seen improvement in the hard hit manufacturing industry with the addition of more than 100,000 jobs since February. We`ve seen unemployment fall in all but one of the 50 states.A key contributor to these numbers is the President’s Jobs and Growth tax relief package, which has raised the level of economic activity and productivity, resulting in higher incomes and living standards for all American workers. In fact, the U.S. Department of Treasury estimated that without President Bush’s tax relief packages, unemployment would have been 1.6% higher by the end of 2004—that equates to 3 million jobs! (Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, July 15, 2004, “The State of the American Economy”)However, we are not satisfied, nor are we complacent. Regional economic growth initiatives are a key factor in advancing job creation, and they must be accelerated. We are experiencing a new era of intense world-wide competition, and one of the keys to future success is collaboration. Economies are not hermitically sealed within artificial political boundaries. We need to think regionally and act regionally to align a critical mass of local resources and talent to spur innovation.The bottom line for regional development today is building prosperity—a high and rising standard of living. Productivity and productivity growth are the fundamental drivers of prosperity, and innovation is the key driver of productivity. Innovation can be defined as the ability to transform knowledge and ideas into new products, processes or services. It permits the creation of high-value products that can expand trade and capture market share, and create jobs. Innovative companies, workers, regions and nations are rewarded with greater incomes, higher wages and greater prosperity.America is a clear No. 1 in innovation. We are the country that has generated more technological breakthroughs and brought them to the marketplace than any other in the fields of telecommunications, transportation, electronics, computers, medicine and pharmaceuticals. The convergence of various technologies now and into the future in nanotech, biotech, IT and cognitive technology will create new opportunities and new industries. The U.S. constitutes nearly 45% of global R&D. We are still the world leader in venture capital and we are home to many of the finest research labs and universities, such as RPI. We possess one of the most open economies for trade and investment; a stable government; and a culture uniquely supportive of risk-taking. But, we can, and must, do even better. We must remain the world’s leading innovator, and this requires continuously improving our efforts in the government, academic institutions, and the private sector. The question we now face is how to connect knowledge creators with knowledge commercializers. At the federal level, President Bush is driving aggressive efforts to create an environment that will help make this connection. His goal is to ensure that America is the best place in the world for innovation and entrepreneurship. The President has called for:• Reducing unnecessary and burdensome regulations, and advancing litigation reform;• Transforming health care through health information technology;• Increasing access to and affordability of broadband technology, and; • Providing a cleaner and more secure energy future through hydrogen fuel technology.President Bush has also called for:• Increasing federal R&D funding to a record $132 billion in FY 2005, representing a 44% increase over the past four years. This is the greatest share of GDP in over 10 years dedicated to R&D, and is more than the rest of the G8 countries combined. Not since the Apollo program in 1968 have we seen an investment in science of this magnitude. And this amount places particular importance on the areas of nanotechnology, IT and broadband;• Making the Research and Experimentation tax credit permanent, unleashing the innovative power of the private sector;• Strongly supporting the newly created Interagency Working Group on Manufacturing R&D (called the IWG)—a formal government-wide interagency working group within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) as a part of the President’s initiative to bring manufacturing issues to the highest levels of federal government; o (Note: The IWG is already up and working, having met each month since May 2004. Members include the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, EPA, NASA, NSF, OMB and OSTP.);• Helping community colleges train 100,000 additional workers through the President’s Jobs for the 21st Century Initiative;• Doubling the number of workers receiving federal job training assistance through Innovation Training Accounts;• Increased funding for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office by $310.9 million to improve the patent system for rewarding invention, a fundamental for American innovation;• Called for open, global technical standards that are critical in today’s collaborative environment, and will be necessary as we progress in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. o Standards enhance interoperability, encourage collaboration, and speed process transformation. And, U.S. access to worldwide markets depends increasingly on standards being set by other countries and international organizations. The application of these seemingly arcane standards and related testing requirements will make or break U.S. companies—and determine the fate of many American workers.The President understands that, for the U.S. to maintain its position as the world’s leading innovator, our R&D capabilities must stay here in the United States, and not move elsewhere. To keep it here, the private sector, which funds two-thirds of America’s R&D, needs to continue to see the U.S. as the world leader in cutting edge fundamental research that can be efficiently transferred to the private sector. Even in an environment of tight budgets, this Administration is working aggressively to provide the tools to accomplish this. The Department of Commerce supports innovation on many fronts through the superb leadership of my colleague, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Phil Bond, and also through the Economic Development Administration. Let me mention TA first.The Technology Administration has been particularly active in two very important areas: High-End Computing and Nanotechnology.While the needs of the defense community have driven the development of high-end computing in the past, in today’s world, high-end computing is equally important to economic and commercial interests – the exploration of nanotechnology, the development of improved industrial catalysts, and the modeling of diseases and therapies, to name three. It has been said that we can only compete as fast as we can compute, and this is why supercomputing is a key priority for the Technology Administration, which was an active participant in the work of the High-End Computing Revitalization task force. The task force addressed the role the federal government can play in advancing high-end computing.TA and NIST are also on the cutting edge in sponsoring the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which was kicked off as a Presidential Initiative in 2000. Since taking office, President Bush has more than doubled federal funding for nanotechnology to $961 million for FY04. NIST’s unique and critical contribution to this initiative is in:o Developing the measurements and standards infrastructure that underpins nanoscience and nanoengineering,o Providing the measurement capabilities needed to turn new discoveries into detailed scientific understanding, ando Using this new knowledge to create useful technologies and applications for the private sector.Meanwhile, the Economic Development Administration is investing in a new American infrastructure for innovation by providing grants for technology-led regional development projects such as technology incubation, broadband deployment, distance learning networks, advanced training and manufacturing facilities, and more.And we have made technology-led economic development strategies one of EDA’s top four funding priorities in each of the last three years. As a result, since 2001, EDA’s invested over $300 million in technology-led investments. This is projected to generate over $12 billion in private-sector leverage and create or save nearly 90,000 jobs. We are placing a particular emphasis on technology commercialization through our University Center Program, which provides annual funding to universities throughout the United States to support projects that have the potential to create jobs and businesses. So, the federal government is working rigorously to create an environment in which regional strategies for innovation can thrive. There is also work to be done within America’s academic institutions. Universities like RPI are an important part of the fabric for innovative regional economic development. They expand human capital through education and training, and they create knowledge. They work to diversify regional economies by generating new opportunities out of the old—new opportunities for entrepreneurship, new industries, and new jobs. One quick example: In 1999, close to 19,000 licenses of innovations made at academic institutions were active. In that same year, with only 25% of these licenses generating revenue, they accounted for more than $40 billion in economic activity and supported 270,000 jobs. (Source: Anne S. Habiby, Co-Executive Director, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, “Revving Up: Universities and Colleges As Urban Revitalization Engines,” EDA Magazine Economic Development America, Winter 2004, p. 6).If only one-quarter of licenses generating revenue produced these results, just imagine the implications for our national economy if we could strengthen our technology commercialization efforts to produce 75%, 90% or more of such licenses generating private sector revenue! The prospects are just tremendous.To intensify these efforts, we must strengthen the complementary engagement of our universities and their respective regions and local communities. University engagement needs to be broadened, and not compartmentalized. There must be, within the university, diverse, integrated commitments across administrative and academic units—and these should include the schools of business, engineering, law, medicine, and public policy.Through these broadened engagements between universities and their communities, the universities can better align their priorities and resources with those of the regional industry cluster, and thus increase rates of commercialization of advanced technologies.There are some great examples of regional innovation-led economic development efforts throughout the country. I am especially excited about the opening of the RPI Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies later this week and RPI’s plans to build a “Future Energy Systems Center for Advanced Technology.”High-quality, reliable, and affordable energy is one of the greatest challenges for our nation, and represents a significant opportunity for economic development. This effort’s regional collaborative format coupled with its focus on technology commercialization will reduce the time it takes for ideas to move from the lab to the marketplace, while helping to retain and create jobs in New York State. Furthermore, it will increase the incentives for energy companies to relocate to New York. Thank you for your leadership in this commendable collaboration.President Bush has two, very interrelated top priorities. One is to ensure our national security and the other is to strengthen America’s economy in every region of this country. To accomplish this, we must enhance our innovation capacity that has made the U.S. economy the envy of the world, and has made American workers the most prosperous in history.Thank you! I look forward to answering your questions. For possible use in Q&A…Example of EDA investment in technology in New YorkEDA is also proud of investments in key New York regions. As a recent example, we awarded a $3 million investment in September of 2001 to the Development Authority of the North Country in Watertown. This investment is assisting in the construction of a regional fiber optic system that will provided businesses with the capacity to fully utilize accessible and affordable telecommunications services. By providing this advanced technology to three rural counties in upstate New York, we will help create more than 500 jobs.Technology Administration/NIST Detail• The Technology Administration’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) co-chaired the task group on Federal High-End Computing Capability, Capacity and Accessibility and NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also played a significant role, and co-chaired the Procurement Task Group to improve the efficiency of Federal procurement of high-end computing resources.• Additionally, Many of NIST’s current research efforts could benefit from better access to high-end computing.• NIST’s new Advance Measurement Laboratory is a best-of-its-kind facility for experimental research in nanoscale science and technology.• High end computing has great potential for significantly enhancing the promise of this facility. Through increased access to high end computing resources at other federally supported centers, NIST expects to increase its capabilities in the metrology of nanostructures.• For example, development of techniques for atom-by-atom construction of nanostructures will require modeling of the atomic-scale dynamics of the scanning probe, the atoms it is moving, and the sample substrate.The Technology Administration and NIST are also on the cutting edge in sponsoring the National Nanotechnology Initiative, or NNI, which was kicked off as a Presidential Initiative in 2000:• Since taking office, President Bush has more than doubled funding for nanotechnology to $961 million in FY 2004.• The President has proposed a budget of nearly $1 billion for the coming year.• Passage of the 21st Century Nanotechnology R&D Act in December 2003, with overwhelming bipartisan support, formally established the program and authorizes $3.7 billion in funding over the next four years; this doesn’t even include the nano budgets of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, or the National Institutes of Health.o The Act mandates the establishment of centers to tackle manufacturing challenges, and to address societal and ethical issues.High-End Computing—Industrial Applications:Companies use high-performance computing in a variety of ways, and will continue to require the best machines to compete successfully. The automotive industry uses fast machines to maximize the effectiveness of computer-aided design and engineering. Pixar uses massive computer animation programs to produce films. Pharmaceutical companies simulate chemical interactions to help with drug design. The commercial satellite industry needs to manage huge amounts of data for mapping. Financial companies and other industries use large computers to process immense and unpredictable Web transaction volumes, mine databases for sales patterns or fraud, and measure the risk of complex investment portfolios. |
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