Thinking About Science
Much of this section discusses the often misunderstood relationships between science, technology, productivity, and a successful economy.
An Unpredictability Principle for Basic Research (William Carey AAAS Lecture, April 12, 1995), published in the 1995 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Yearbook. pp. 5-17.
This is related to the NAS 1993 COSEPUP report “Science, Technology, and the Federal Government: National Goals for A New Era.”
The Known, the Unknown and the Unknowable (Essay), Scientific American. June 1995, pp. 120.
We are all taught what is known, but we rarely learn about what is not known, and we almost never learn about what is unknowable.
National Productivity and Computers (Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences plenary address, January 5, 1995), published in IEEE Computer Magazine, July 1995, Volume 28, Number 7, pp. 66-72.
A discussion of the factors contributing to productivity. The term “macroscope” is introduced for objects too large to see.
Let Them Eat Chips The Bridge. (National Academy of Engineering), Winter 1993, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 13-16.
Simple models that neglect essential features of industry can be misleading.
Science: How Much is Enough? (with Hirsh Cohen), Scientific American. July 1993, pp. 120.
How do we decide what science to support and at what level to support it?
Goals for the Federal Role in Science and Technology Physics Today. May 1993, pp. 42-45.
There is considerable overlap between this article and the three immediately below.
The Government Role in Science and Technology Technology in Society. 1992, Vol. 14, pp. 357-362.
Government’s Role in Science and Technology: Goals and Priorities The Bridge. (National Academy of Engineering), Summer, 1992, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 18-21.
The U.S. Government’s Role in Science & Technology Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 1992, Vol. 136, No. 1, pp. 79-84.
The Technology-Product Relationship: Early and Late Stages Technology and the Wealth of Nations, Edited by Nathan Rosenberg, Ralph Landau, and David C. Mowery, Stanford Press, 1992, pp. 383-394.
Technology and product can related in two different ways. One, the “ladder” relationship, is characteristic of the early stages of industry and the other, “cycle” relationship, is characteristic of later stages.
The Information Evolution in Perspective: A View from the Year 2091 (APS Jayne Lecture, January 24, 1991), published in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 1995, Vol. 139, No. 4, pp. 420-426.
Looking back at our time from the year 2091.
Of Ladders, Cycles and Economic Growth Scientific American. June 1990, pp. 140.
A major scientific advance is achieved; engineers translate it into a successful new product. This pattern of progress dominates our thinking. But improvement also occurs as one generation of product succeeds another; underestimating the importance of this process can be a major error.
Making Big Gains From Small Steps: Constantly improving existing products, says IBM’s former top scientist, is as critical as developing new ones.
Fortune Magazine, April 23, 1990
Moving IBM’s Technology From Research to Development Research Technology Management, November-December 1989, pp. 27-32.
Often the greatest challenge facing a research organization is moving its results rapidly and consistently into the company’s product line. But it can be done.
From The Ladder of Science to the Product Development Cycle Harvard Business Review, Vol. 89. November-December 1989, No. 6, pp. 99-105.
Two very different patterns of innovation are described.
A Dialogue on Competitiveness (with H. T. Shapiro), Issues in Science and Technology, Summer 1988, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 36-42.
Science and Product (with R. W. Schmitt), Science. May 27, 1988, Vol. 240, No. 4856, pp. 1131-1132, 1203-1204.
Turning Ideas Into Products The Bridge (National Academy of Engineering) Spring 1988, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 11-14.
Dominant Science Does Not Mean Dominant Product (1987 Scientist of the Year Lecture), Research & Development, November, 1987, Vol. 29, No. 11, pp. 72-74.
Science in Industry (a talk given at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Mathematics Department of the T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), December 1986, IBM Journal of Research and Development, March 1987, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 151-153.
Trends in Computers (Invited Review), European Journal of Operational Research, September 1986, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 330-340.
Why computers progress so rapidly and what can be expected for the next ten years.
Aspects of Research and Development Research Management, November-December 1985, Vol. XXVIII, No. 6, pp. 32-33.
Research in Industry Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, March 1985, Vol. 129, No. 1, pp. 26-29.
Computer Evolution Presented at IEEE Centennial, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1984; published in Electrical Engineering: The Second Century Begins, New York, IEEE Press, 1986, pp. 111-116.
Computers in Science and Technology: Early Indications (with Humberto Gerola), Science, July 6, 1984, Vol 225, pp. 11-18.
Technology Development Science, May 6, 1982, Vol 220, pp. 576-580. This is related to “Technology Development,” published lecture given at the Naval Postgraduate School, January 6, 1981, and to “Some Principles in Technology Development from the Steam Engine to the Computer,” published Joseph Wunsch Lecture, 1981, given at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
The history of the steam engine and the history of the transistor are described as examples of how revlutionary technologies actually evolve.
Science and Technology, A Five Year Outlook (Study Chairman), Book published in Collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences by W. H. Freeman and Company, 1979.
This report was prepared by a study committee of the NAS-NRC for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). OSTP was required by Congress to prepare an annual five year outlook on Science and Technology. This was the first such report.
World Symposium on Applied Solar Energy Naval Research Reviews. March 1956, pp. 21-24.
An Instrumentation Reference Center Naval Research Reviews. March 1956, pp. 9-13.