An Electronic Newsletter
for the International S&T Community
September 98, No. 2, ITRI, Loyola College
HEADLINES
THE Y1.998K PROBLEM (Y2K ARRIVES 0.002K EARLY):
MARKETS CRASH, RUBLE DEVALUED, POLITICIANS FIRED, ORIOLES 31 GAMES BEHIND.
NEW REPORT ON ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN JAPAN
WTEC NANOBASE SELECTED AS "WEB PICK OF THE DAY" BY HMS BEAGLE
OTA REMEMBERED ON THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF ITS DEMISE
ATIP PUBLISHES NEW REPORTS ON ASIAN HIGH TECHNOLOGY
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Free newsletter on international S&T assessments from the International Technology Research Institute, Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland 21210, USA. This is the HTML version at http://itri.loyola.edu/NEWS/.
To subscribe to the newsletter, send email to majordomo@itri.loyola.edu with only:
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This is the second issue of ITRInews, covering studies of international S&T for national competitive assessments, international tech transfer, and international cooperation. It is from ITRI, which has done over 50 such studies with sponsorship from NSF and other agencies, but will cover other similar projects. The previous issue is at First Issue.
We want to include workshops, reports, new studies, etc. Please send us email on projects that should be included -- the results should be public, at least in summary. The first few issues will survey some of the main players in the field. We try to keep it to less than two pages with a Web link for details. Please forward to others, and may I have your ideas?
Duane Shelton, rds@loyola.edu, http://justice.loyola.edu/~rds/
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The Y1.998K Problem. Like the party guest who arrives while you're in the shower, the Year 2000 Problem came in 1998. Since talk show hosts, instant authors, and politicians have warned that computers will fail when they calculate 1/1/00, recent computations of the expiration date of millions of Visa cards must have created havoc. Is it any coincidence that stock markets started crashing in 1998, currencies were devaluated, prime ministers et al. are losing their jobs, and great baseball teams have been eliminated from the playoffs? What does this have to do with international S&T? Does it matter? For considerably better jokes try Dave Barry.
The Developing Asian Workplace. This report analyzes likely directions in the Asian workplace over the next 10-15 years. In particular, it examines major trends in economics, technology, and society with emphasis on Japan, Singapore, and China. What's New at ATIP
Academy Study of S&T in U.S. Foreign Policy. The Department of State has been criticized for its cutbacks in international science and has responded by commissioning a study by the National Academy of Science. The project is headed by Glenn Schweitzer in their Office of International Affairs. The year-long study will provide advice on how State could better bring U.S. science, technology, and health assets to bear on the nation's international policies and programs. http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/ProjectScopeDisplay/ Then go down several pages to project OIAX-N-98-07-ATG.
Science and Technology Caucus Provides a New Forum in the Senate. While the Senate has a Committee on Science, Technology and Space, , the House Science Committee has long provided the main forum for S&T on Capitol Hill. Now the Senate S&T caucus has been formed by Bill Frist (R-Tennessee), Peter Domenici (R-New Mexico), John Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) to encourage more interest in the Senate in S&T. The caucus has held several roundtable meetings, similar to congressional hearings. Sen. Frist, a heart surgeon from Tennessee, has become a new advocate for R&D in Washington.
OTA 1972-1995 RIP. September 30 marks the third anniversary of the demise of the Office of Technology Assessment, which set the standard of excellence in providing congressional committees with analyses of emerging technical issues. Many of their reports are still relevant, and OTA asked the National Academy Press to maintain an archive of its reports. OTA Reports.
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Asia's Woes Send Computer Chip Sales Skidding. (NTW) Coupling of the Asian financial crisis to U.S. high technology industry is shown by computer chip sales falling 14% in June over a year ago. Semiconductor equipment sales are also softening to where they now trail shipments. New Technology Week
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Top 100 Chinese Electronics Companies '98. (ATIP) In 1997, combined annual sales for the top 100 companies was about $24.2 billion, growing 34.5 percent over the preceding year. This report provides summary data for the Top 100, and discusses the new Ministry of Information Industry (MII), created by merging three existing ministries. Summary
R&D in Nanoparticles and Nanodevices.(WTEC) With the encouragement of Mike Roco at NSF and a summer job by sophomore Bob Tamburello, this study has already resulted in one of the best nano clearinghouses at Nanotechnology Database. HMS Beagle, a webzine for biological and medical researchers, has just awarded the site "Web Pick of the Day" honors and will post a link to it on BioMedLink.
Electronic Applications of Superconductivity Report. (WTEC) by John Rowell, Malcom Beasley, and Richard Ralston. The final report is now available in hardcopy and on the Web at Superconducting Electronics.
Data Storage Technologies. (WTEC), 5/27/98. The workshop viewgraphs have just been posted on the Web: HDM Workshop
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WTEC is organizing studies of mariculture, tissue engineering, and benign manufacturing. Let us know if you'd like to get involved.*
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The organizations doing international S&T studies featured in this issue of ITRInews are below.
Brits The British keep an eye on S&T in the US and other countries through the DTI Ministry and their embassies. For the Washington embassy's current view, click on US S&T News.WTEC World Technology (WTEC) Division of ITRI, funded by a coop agreement with NSF. Paul Herer is NSF program director, and Geoff Holdridge is the WTEC Division Director. http://itri.loyola.edu
ATIP The Asian Technology Information Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing objective and high-quality information about technology developments in Asia. It was founded by Wally Lopez and David Kahaner at the University of New Mexico. It has great facilities in Tokyo for visiting scientists. ATIP has produced many reports and releases several more each month. Summaries are posted on their Web site, and the full reports are available to subscribers ($2500 for full membership). ATIP
NAS U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which has conducted several international science assessments, and is planning more. http://www.nas.edu/
New Technology Week This newsletter covers U.S. and international technologies. Reporter Mark Crawford always writes an accurate and interesting summary of the implications of the S&T studies presented in Washington. An annual subscription costs about $850. More Info
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Copyright 1998 Loyola College. Partly sponsored by NSF coop agreement ENG-9707092. Permission is given to copy ITRInews with credit to ITRI. Loyola or its sponsors do not accept responsibility for the accuracy of information. Complaints or comments to rds@itri.loyola.edu please.
The previous issue is at First Issue.