A joint National Academy of Engineering (NAE)-National Research Council (NRC) study committee will assess the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) capabilities that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) needs to meet its goals, objectives, and priorities; assess whether the current DOD workforce and strategy will meet those needs; and identify and evaluate options and recommend strategies that the department could use to help meet its future STEM needs.

The study work scope will involve five major tasks:

1. Review the current and projected STEM workforce demands over the next five years relevant to DOD needs and to the needs of the industrial base supporting DOD programs and missions, including an overview by science and engineering discipline, quality, and skill level.
2. Provide an assessment of current limitations to meeting these needs over the next five years and an analysis of observations by recognized experts on the forces shaping limitations on future needs.
3. Review alternative options for overcoming identified limiting factors and other impediments to fulfilling near-term DOD STEM needs.
4. Identify emerging science and technology fields that will likely have significant impact on the DOD and national needs over the next 5-15 years and where targeted national investments could have the most impact on developing human resources in the identified fields.
5. Provide an overview and analysis of expert views on the capacity of the nation’s higher education enterprise in meeting the necessary scale and scope of STEM workforce needs for DOD and the U.S. defense industrial base.

The study committee will convene a two-day public workshop on US defense-related workforce needs. The workshop will feature invited expert presentations and discussions. The committee will develop the workshop agenda, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Experts to be invited to participate in the workshop will be drawn from the membership of prior NRC studies and related activities, the public and private sectors, and from academic organizations. Following the conclusion of the workshop, a summary report of the event will be prepared by the committee. There will be one administrative progress report and one interim report, as well as a final consensus report based on the committee's work on the five study tasks, including the information presented in the workshop.