Briefs

Reuters (07/08/05) The United States is in danger of losing its more than five-decade-long global dominance of science and engineering as the percentage of American science and engineering graduates starts lagging behind that of Europe and developing countries, according to a study written by Richard Freeman of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

His report estimates that science and engineering accounted for 17 percent of U.S. university bachelor degrees in 2000, compared with a world average of 27 percent and a Chinese average of 52 percent. Meanwhile, European Union universities awarded 40 percent more science and engineering doctorates than the United States in 2001, and that figure is expected to climb to almost 100 percent by the end of the current decade.

Freeman's study says U.S. students are being discouraged from entering the fields of science and engineering by fewer career opportunities and lower comparative wages. Despite accounting for just 5 percent of the world's population, America uses nearly one-third of science of engineering researchers, publishes 35 percent of science and engineering research papers, and is responsible for 40 percent of R&D spending.

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