Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Future of Innovation and Research Funding

This half-meter resolution image of the United States Capitol, Washington D.C. was collected by the GeoEye-1 satellite on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009. Satellite image by GeoEye.

As the new administration in Washington gets underway, we'll talk about funding for research and innovation in hostile economic times. In this segment, Ira talks with Congressman Rush Holt, plasma physicist and US Representative from new Jersey, about the road ahead for spending on science in the coming Congress. The recovery package currently under discussion in Congress includes at $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, $2 billion for physical science research at the Department of Energy, and $3.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the bill includes more than $30 billion for investments in energy research and technology. Can science spending be an effective economic tool?