US Can't Meet The "Grand Challenges" of Physics

BlueSky writes "A new report paints a troubling picture of the state of physics research in the US, which the authors believe has dire consequences for the competitiveness of the US. 'The report identifies six key questions that will represent the grand challenges that materials science will face over the coming decade, the ones most likely to produce the next revolution. But it also raises fears that those challenges will be met by researchers outside of the US. It highlights the fact that government funding has not kept up with the rising costs of research at the same time that the corporate-funded research lab system has collapsed. As a result, US scientific productivity has stagnated at a time when funding and output are booming overseas.'"

Comments

Re:Intelligent Design Advocates

[Ucklak]

It's not just that. It's that 'no child left behind' crap and 'more money for less performing schools'. It boils down to the Department of education and their political agenda.

DC and the city of Atlanta spend something like over $10,000 per child, have the lowest test scores and they still ask for more money. Poor performing schools aren't berated but praised with more money, good teachers have their hands tied behind their back and are punished by having to step down their lesson plans to accomodate non-english speaking students (at least where I live).

Basically we're stuck with a government agency that is hell bent on making sure that our highest aptitude students get the best quality education that the lowest attitude students can handle.

Re:And who can weee thank for this?

[timeOday]

Basically, we're looking at the results of at least one generation (more likely two or three) of neglect by the federal government, the corporate sector, and our own education system.

Another way to look at it is, why was the US so dominant for the last 60 years in the first place? Maybe it's simple: the other industrialized nations were devastated by war. We were protected by geography, and made amazing sums of money supplying those wars and the reconstruction, and hand-picking brilliant refugees from all sides to live here. That peculiar set of circumstances will not last forever. Perhaps this is a return to normalcy, or rather to the next unpredictable episode of history where somebody else will take center stage.