Web-Based Questions


1			THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION R&D STATISTICS— WHAT'S HAPPENING? Go to the Division of Science Resource Statistics Web site, http://www.nsf.gov/statistics, to find the listing for Research & Development. Select Industry and then the most recent InfoBrief on National Patterns of R&D Resources. Use the historical charts and tables to determine whether the following R&D numbers increased, remained constant, or decreased over the last 5 years listed: (a) Total U.S. R&D expenditures in constant dollars, (b) Federal support for R&D in constant dollars, (c) R&D as a percentage of U.S. GDP, and (d) Federal support of R&D as a percentage of GDP. What are the technological implications of these figures for the United States?




2			NASA—ARE THERE COMMERCIAL SPIN-OFFS? Visit the Web site of NASA's Technology Transfer Office, at http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto, to identify significant commercial benefits from secondary use of NASA technology. Search the database to find and describe five such spin-offs. How does the NASA Commercial Technology Network (http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/ move technology from the lab to the marketplace?