The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.
For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at this ScienceDebate question on Education:
Increasingly, the global economy is driven by science, technology, engineering and math, but a recent comparison of 15-year-olds in 65 countries found that average science scores among U.S. students ranked 23rd, while average U.S. math scores ranked 31st. In your view, why have American students fallen behind over the last three decades, and what role should the federal government play to better prepare students of all ages for the science and technology-driven global economy?
How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.
A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas400 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity’s most pressing current and future challenges. The United States’ position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S…. [more]
Improving Measurement of Productivity in Higher Education230 pages | Paperback | Price: $42.30Higher education is a linchpin of the American economy and society. Teaching and research at colleges and universities contribute significantly to the nation’s economic activity, both directly and through their impact on future growth; federal and state… [more]
Fueling Innovation and Discovery: The Mathematical Sciences in the 21st Century57 pages | Paperback | Price: $17.95The mathematical sciences are part of everyday life. Modern communication, transportation, science, engineering, technology, medicine, manufacturing, security, and finance all depend on the mathematical sciences. Fueling Innovation and Discovery… [more]
The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.
For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at this ScienceDebate question on Space:
The United States is currently in a major discussion over our national goals in space. What should America’s space exploration and utilization goals be in the 21st century and what steps should the government take to help achieve them?
How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.
New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics324 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically during the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to… [more]
Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022400 pages | Paperback | Price: $49.50In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon’s poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have… [more]
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society454 pages | Paperback | Price: $60.30From the interior of the Sun, to the upper atmosphere and near-space environment of Earth, and outward to a region far beyond Pluto where the Sun’s influence wanes, advances during the past decade in space physics and solar physics–the disciplines NASA… [more]
Natural and human-induced changes in Earth’s interior, land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans affect all aspects of life. Understanding these changes requires a range of observations acquired from land-, sea-, air-, and space-based platforms. To… [more]
The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.
For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at this ScienceDebate question on Fresh Water:
Less than one percent of the world’s water is liquid fresh water, and scientific studies suggest that a majority of U.S. and global fresh water is now at risk because of increasing consumption, evaporation and pollution. What steps, if any, should the federal government take to secure clean, abundant fresh water for all Americans?
How would you respond? Download these reports for free at NAP.edu or purchase a print copy to read.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences200 pages | Paperback | Price: $45.00New research opportunities to advance hydrologic sciences promise a better understanding of the role of water in the Earth system that could help improve human welfare and the health of the environment. Reaching this understanding will require both… [more]
Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta280 pages | Paperback | Price: $47.70Extensively modified over the last century and a half, California’s San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary remains biologically diverse and functions as a central element in California’s water supply system. Uncertainties about the future, actions taken under the… [more]
Confronting the Nation’s Water Problems: The Role of Research324 pages | Paperback | Price: $44.10In order to confront the increasingly severe water problems faced by all parts of the country, the United States needs to make a new commitment to research on water resources. A new mechanism is needed to coordinate water research currently fragmented among… [more]
The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.
For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at the ScienceDebate question on Innovation and the Economy: Continue reading →
The leading U.S. science and engineering organizations developed a list of 14 science policy questions facing the U.S. in 2012. You can read these questions–and the Presidential candidates’ answers–at ScienceDebate.org.
For each of the Science Debate 2012 questions, we’re going to provide you a selection of the authoritative and unbiased resources of the National Academies to help inform your response to the candidates’ answers. Today, we’re looking at the ScienceDebate question on Science and Public Policy: Continue reading →
The recent Gauss malware attack has been the hot topic of the cyber community and several technology magazines have dedicated lengthy articles about the seriousness of the virus. We asked Dr. Herbert Lin, cyber attack expert and chief scientist at the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, to weigh in and explain the significance of the Gauss malware virus currently affecting the Middle East. Here’s what he had to say:
“A number of public reports have asserted that Gauss is state-sponsored malware directed against customers of Middle Eastern banks for the purpose of gathering intelligence on those banks and customers. If this is its only purpose (and no reports have yet surfaced indicating that Gauss is an agent intended to steal money), then Gauss is an agent of cyber exploitation rather than cyber attack. But even if Gauss is state-sponsored, it would be just one more example of how nations conduct espionage operations against entities of interest with all the tools at their disposal.
The details of financial transactions in the Middle East are clearly interesting to those who follow the development of weapons of mass destruction, the evasion of sanctions, and terrorist activities, and it would not be surprising if nations use cyber espionage to obtain information that they could not otherwise obtain from the banking systems in question.”
The National Research Council has produced a number of significant reports on cyber security and related subjects, which are all free to download from www.NAP.edu.
Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace328 pages | Paperback | Price: $51.30Given the growing importance of cyberspace to nearly all aspects of national life, a secure cyberspace is vitally important to the nation, but cyberspace is far from secure today. The United States faces the real risk that adversaries will exploit… [more]
Critical Code: Software Producibility for Defense160 pages | Paperback | Price: $31.27Critical Code contemplates Department of Defense (DoD) needs and priorities for software research and suggests a research agenda and related actions. Building on two prior books–Summary of a Workshop on Software Intensive Systems and… [more]
Today, Americans are feeling the gradual and subtle effects of globalization that challenge the economic and strategic leadership that the United States has enjoyed since World War II. A substantial portion of our workforce finds itself in direct competition for jobs with lower-wage workers around the globe, and leading-edge scientific and engineering work is being accomplished in many parts of the world. The National Academy of Sciences has produced a number of reports that examine this problem and make recommendations to enhance the science and technology enterprise so that the United States can successfully compete, prosper, and be secure in the global community of the 21st century.
The newly released Research Universities and the Future of America presents critically important strategies for ensuring that our nation’s research universities contribute strongly to America’s prosperity, security, and national goals. Widely considered the best in the world, our nation’s research universities today confront significant financial pressures, important advances in technology, a changing demographic landscape, and increased international competition. This report provides a course of action for ensuring our universities continue to produce the knowledge, ideas, and talent the United States needs to be a global leader in the 21st century.
Research Universities and the Future of America examines trends in university finance, prospects for improving university operations, opportunities for deploying technology, and improvement in the regulation of higher education institutions. It also explores ways to improve pathways to graduate education, take advantage of opportunities to increase student diversity, and realign doctoral education for the careers new doctorates will follow. In the first video below, members of the authoring committee share their insights. The second video is a recording of the release event, with more in-depth perspectives from the committee.
Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads explores the role of diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and its value in keeping America innovative and competitive. The video below is of the report release event.
Both of these titles follow up on the findings of the landmark study Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Published in 2007, that congressionally requested report made four recommendations along with 20 implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts to maintain America’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. A podcast and videos of Congressional hearing about this report are available:
These reports and others are available to read or download at no charge at our website.
Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5104 pages | Paperback | Price: $17.95In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared Rising Above the Gathering… [more]
Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth?92 pages | Not for SaleThe aviation and telecommunication revolutions have conspired to make distance increasingly irrelevant. An important consequence of this is that US citizens, accustomed to competing with their neighbors for jobs, now must compete with candidates from all… [more]
Since last June, hundreds of thousands of PDFs have been downloaded for free from the NAP website. Don’t miss out on your chance to read any of these top ten downloads in the Space and Aeronautics category. Continue reading →
Since last June, hundreds of thousands of PDFs have been downloaded for free from the NAP website. Don’t miss out on your chance to read any of these top ten downloads in the Math, Chemistry, and Physics category. Continue reading →
Since last June, hundreds of thousands of PDFs have been downloaded for free from the NAP website. Don’t miss out on your chance to read any of these top ten downloads in the Health and Medicine category. Continue reading →
