Strengthening U.S. Scientific Leadership: NAS President Calls for Urgent Reforms

During the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s State of the Science Address, NAS Marcia McNutt called for action to protect and strengthen U.S. leadership in science at the global scale. Among her recommendations, she stressed the importance of improving K-12 science education to expand the domestic STEM workforce, modernizing university-industry research partnerships, and developing a national strategy to coordinate research. 

“We have to build the scientific workforce of the future.” (McNutt)

These recommendations come at a pivotal time where U.S. investments in scientific research and development are falling behind compared other competitor countries. In addition, private research is dominating the field of AI which leaves its applications public interests up unaddressed. In order to preserve U.S. leadership in the global stage of scientific excellence, McNutt stressed the importance of public-private partnerships in order to assure scientific advances are made for not just private interests, but also for social good.

Since the beginning, AI2ES has made workforce development, AI and science education, and impactful public-private partnerships part of our core tenants to our work and efforts. From our summer code camps for middle schoolers to our technology transfer initiatives with private companies, we have been striving to do excellent science while training up the next generation of STEM leaders in the U.S.