The United States has long led the world in total research and development spending, but while other countries have prioritized the long-term growth of science and technology investments, U.S. R&D intensity has remained stagnant. During the last decade, federal support for R&D as a share of total expenditures has fallen and the private sector and academic institutions have taken on more of the financial burden. These institutions are unfortunately facing new and immediate economic pressures given the sustained impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the frontiers of science continue to expand; the scientific challenges at hand are becoming increasingly global in nature; and the scale of investment needed to catch up grows.

During this meeting, attendees discussed ways of meeting the challenges facing the research enterprise.

Speakers:
Mehmood Khan, CEO of Life Biosciences, Inc. and Chairman of the Council on Competitiveness
Peter Cowhey, Dean and Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California San Diego
Bindu Nair, Director of Basic Research at United States Department of Defense

This meeting is for members of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and invited guests.