The same executives told us that federal government research investments also are geared to a shorter time frame than in years past. The most obvious example of such innovation is the Internet, which has changed society in ways that few could imagine even 10 years ago. Many of the important principles that gave rise to the Internet came from defense-related research begun in the 1960s. New challenges also are facing the fast-growing field of biotechnology. Driven largely by the rapid proliferation of data produced by the Human Genome Project and other work in gene mapping, the biotech and pharmaceutical industries have rushed headlong into developing new drugs and other therapies.
Potential profits are enormous.
Workers in such an environment must be well versed in computers and the life sciences. But today these workers are in short supply. Ironically, this comes at a time when many graduates in the pure life sciences are underemployed. To ensure that the nation stays competitive, our universities must do a better job training for the occupational needs of the future, many of which transcend the traditional disciplines of academia. In contrast to other fields, links between education researchers and educators themselves are not well developed.