Advanced Technology Program: Challenges and Opportunities (1999)
Chapter: Welcome
Welcome
Charles W. Wessner
National Research Council
Dr. Wessner welcomed the conference participants, noting that the conference is being held under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP), whose chair is Dale Jorgenson of Harvard University and whose vice-chairman is William Spencer of SEMATECH. Among the STEP Board's recent work is a major study on the competitive position of 11 U.S. manufacturing sectors, entitled U.S. Industry in 2000; that study was spearheaded by the STEP Board's executive director Dr. Stephen Merrill.1 The STEP Board also has published Trends and Challenges in Aerospace Offsets.2 This study explores the impact on the U.S. aerospace supply base of compensation packages—also known as offsets—usually associated with the purchase of large systems, such as military aircraft. It was carried out at the request of the White House National Economic Council. Dr. Wessner said that he hoped the day's discussions would be vigorous, adding that many of the audience members were as knowledgeable about the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) as the speakers and panelists.
Turning to the symposium's first speaker, Dr. Wessner said that opening remarks would be delivered by William Spencer, chairman of SEMATECH and a STEP Board member well acquainted with government partnership programs. The SEMATECH consortium, Dr. Wessner noted, was designed to assist U.S. semiconductor manufacturers in gaining technological preeminence in manufacturing processes. The consortium has been a very successful collaborative under-
taking in an industry noted for its fierce competition. From 1986 to 1990, Dr. Spencer was a senior officer with Xerox Corporation and managed Xerox's worldwide research and development operations. Prior to that, Dr. Spencer managed the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and held positions at Sandia National Laboratories and Bell Labs. Dr. Wessner added that Dr. Spencer also serves as the vice-chairman of the National Research Council's STEP Board and plays a leadership role in the "Government-Industry Partnerships" project.
