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Science Technology and the Economic Future edited by Susan Raymond
Over its 180 year history, the New York Academy of Sciences has often served as a bridge between scientific innovation and public policy.
To illuminate more clearly both the role of science and technology in public and private policy making, and the necessity of supportive public and private policy for science and technology, the Academy regularly invites both public and private leaders to address key issues at the intersection of science, technology, and societal progress. With innovation increasingly powering the global economy and touching virtually every aspect of every society, the imperative of informed policy is central.
The essays in this special volume reflect the perspectives of a variety of government, corporate, and university leaders. Technological change creates both challenges and opportunities for global economic competitiveness and for the continued enhancement of societal welfare. The challenges and the opportunities are complex; neither will be easily met. Leaders who have addressed the Academy have repeatedly emphasized the tangle of policy dilemmas, domestic and international, which confront a technology-intense world.
But we cannot shrink from the choices that technological advance poses for economies, societies, and, yes, the political process. The fact that policy decision-making will be untidy must not deter leaders in the science and technology community from actively engaging in and leading the public debate. Equally, decisions about the allocation of resources in the private sector will be of comparable, and perhaps greater, import. Private investment and innovation will shape future prosperity. Science and technology leaders must deeply understand the choices that private organizations face, and serve a ready resource to guide those decisions. Both perspectives—those of public policy and those of private initiative—are amply represented in this volume of essays.
We thank the many leaders who have participated in Academy forums and shared their insights with colleagues from a broad range of institutions and disciplines. The New York Academy of Sciences continues its commitment to building a forum in which science, technology, and public policy can join to serve society even more productively.
Rodney W. Nichols
President and CEO
Susan Raymond, Ph.D
Director, Policy Programs
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