Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and members of the committee, thank you for theopportunity to speak to you today about a topic vital to our Nation’s future. For the past century
the U.S. has led the world in research, innovation, and technology development. However, thatleadership is now in peril, requiring immediate and sustained action. This issue has no politicalnor geographic affiliation, and solutions must be crafted that benefit every American if we are to
maintain that leadership. We must be unified in developing this solution, since our threats are notwithin the U.S.; rather the threat is from competition abroad.

Past federal investments in research have made a tremendous difference in our state. Mississippi
State University (MSU) won a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center(ERC) in 1990, focused on computational field simulation. We have many success stories thatcame from that ERC, but none more important than how it was used to attract Nissan to the Stateof Mississippi. As a part of the incentive to attract Nissan, we leveraged the ERC to create a newCenter for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at MSU, with a combination of basic
engineering research and industrial outreach to support the automotive industry in the state. Infact, the Department of Commerce has estimated the impact of just this one center, not the entire
university, to be nearly $6 billion over a twelve year period, in jobs saved or created. Without
the NSF investment, I doubt any of this would have been possible.

I appreciate the language in the current proposed legislation that recognizes the need for broad
participation, but would challenge that it does not go far enough. The Established Program toStimulate Competitive Research, EPSCoR, is mentioned specifically. I serve on the EPSCoR
Coalition board, and can attest from firsthand knowledge that this program has a substantialimpact on the 28 states and territories that qualify for this program. However, allocating only
twelve percent of the funds to the EPSCoR program belies the commitment to see distribution oftechnology and innovation funding beyond the five states that see the vast majority of existing
funds. Language regarding the regional hubs similarly has a minimal role for an EPSCoR state to
be included, and no leadership role is expected. EPSCoR jurisdictions are the home oftremendous potential; however, a lack of resources greatly limits the development of thispotential.

The disparity of existing NSF funding between states, the haves and have-nots, is striking, andmy concern is that without specific and proactive action mandated in legislation this disparity
will only worsen. Congress has the opportunity to ensure that zip code does not determine
whether talented students can develop the workforce of the future, the new ideas forentrepreneurial businesses, and the economic development so desperately needed in some of ourmore depressed economies.

I will use my state of Mississippi and my institution as an example. Mississippi population has
the highest percentage of African Americans of U.S. states. At MSU, we enroll a higher
percentage of African Americans — by a wide margin — than any other university in theSoutheastern Conference. And by an equally wide margin, Mississippi State enrolls a greater
proportion of African Americans than any other historically white land-grant university in theUnited States. MSU enrolls the most PELL-eligible students of any university in our state. We
strive for all students, but particularly those from under-represented and disadvantaged
populations, to be successful. To do that, however, we must be provided the resources to involvethese students in creative discovery, technology development, and entrepreneurship in order toensure that they are given all the tools necessary to be successful in life and their careers.
Currently, Mississippi ranks at the bottom of all states in terms of NSF funding per capita. Less
than $7 is invested per Mississippi citizen, whereas the national average is $23, and in somestates is over $80 per capita. This inequity simply must be addressed if we as a nation are tomove forward in unity.

On another note, we need to see stronger coordination with other federal research agencies andnational laboratories. In working with Department of Energy and Department of Defense
national labs, it has often struck me that there needs to be a much stronger partnership amongfederal agencies in technology and innovation. Discovery science at the national labs can readily
partner with technology development programs at academic institutions that would benefit both,and dramatically enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in the U.S. Mississippi State hasdone this particularly well with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research andDevelopment Center in Vicksburg Mississippi, and our state has seen tremendous benefit fromthis partnership.

Establishing a Technology and Innovation Directorate at NSF will not only ensure the UnitedStates’ leadership role in research is continued, it will also bring about STEM training for theworkforce of the future and lead to an economic development renaissance not seen in decades.
Mississippi State has placed tremendous focus on these efforts already, and the benefits havebeen gratifying. Our Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park iscompletely filled, and phase 2 has already been implemented. We have wonderful,entrepreneurial industry partners such as Camgian, Babel Street, II-IV Inc, Martin Federal, andHBM nCode working side by side with MSU faculty and students in efforts to grow theMississippi economy. Our Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems works particularly closelywith industry in the state to develop innovative solutions as businesses grow. And, our Raspet
Flight Research Laboratory has a seven-decade history of partnering with companies such as
Boeing, Airbus, and new startup companies in manned and unmanned aircraft systems. It is clearthat these partnerships are having a positive impact on the community, pushing it to a leading
technology center with new jobs and industries.

Two years ago I had the opportunity to testify at a sub-committee hearing before this Committee,
and would reiterate here the following four recommendations from that testimony, calling forinvestments to be:

1. Broad-based geographically. We must support the best and brightest students andresearchers wherever they are, not just at a few locations if we as a nation are to make theprogress you envision.
2. Trans-disciplinary in nature. The most challenging issues we face today cannot be solved
by any one or even a few disciplines. Rather, issues such as health disparity, foodsecurity, and water scarcity can only be solved by the hard sciences and social sciences
working together in new and novel ways.
3.

Broadly supportive of both fundamental and developmental research endeavors. Bothbasic and applied research are critical if we are to lead the world in innovation andentrepreneurship.

4. Encouraging federal, state, university, and industry partnerships. We must find ways toinvest in research that leads directly to innovation that spawns entrepreneurship andeconomic development in the private sector. Historically, our economy is based on thisinnovation, and with reduced private investment in academic research, federal funding isever more important if we are to continue to lead the world.

Finally, I applaud your efforts to ensure that the U.S. is working on an even playing field inresearch and development. MSU fully recognizes the threat from intellectual property theft, as
well as national security issues in research, and diligently works with federal law enforcement
officials to do all that we can to ensure our research findings are held with the appropriate
confidentiality.

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, members of the committee, I thank you again for theopportunity to testify before you today. Mississippi State University is a staunch advocate forbipartisan support in technology development and innovation, and we are eager to be fullparticipants in your efforts.