Role at Illinois
If the 21st century is to be the Pacific Century, as some predict, science and technology will play a key role in Asia's rise. Countries throughout the region are quickly becoming global players in a broad range of scientific fields. At the same time, developments in science and technology pose new challenges to regional governments, business, and society. Some in the United States in turn are worried or even alarmed, concerned that the U.S. is losing its preeminent position in global science and technology. Others believe that Asia's emergence as a scientific and technological force will open new markets and create new opportunities for collaboration.
The scale of these changes is indisputable. Asia's science and engineering workforce is approaching 200 million and continues to grow. China's spending on research and development is growing at 17% annually. Scientists in Asia publish and patent in the U.S. at an increasing rate, high-technology exports from Asia are surging and U.S. firms increasingly base research activities in Asia. Recognizing that no single discipline can provide an adequate understanding of these changes, Science and Technology in the Pacific Century (STIP) is a timely interdisciplinary initiative for the University of Illinois.
Which University groups will benefit from STIP:
If the 21st century is to be the Pacific Century, as some predict, science and technology will play a key role in Asia's rise. Countries throughout the region are quickly becoming global players in a broad range of scientific fields. At the same time, developments in science and technology pose new challenges to regional governments, business, and society. Some in the United States in turn are worried or even alarmed, concerned that the U.S. is losing its preeminent position in global science and technology. Others believe that Asia's emergence as a scientific and technological force will open new markets and create new opportunities for collaboration.
The scale of these changes is indisputable. Asia's science and engineering workforce is approaching 200 million and continues to grow. China's spending on research and development is growing at 17% annually. Scientists in Asia publish and patent in the U.S. at an increasing rate, high-technology exports from Asia are surging and U.S. firms increasingly base research activities in Asia. Recognizing that no single discipline can provide an adequate understanding of these changes, Science and Technology in the Pacific Century (STIP) is a timely interdisciplinary initiative for the University of Illinois.
Which University groups will benefit from STIP:
- Students and faculty who have an interest in Asia and want to explore the role of developments in science and technology in Asia. There are over 200 Asia-related doctoral dissertations currently in progress across campus.
- Students and faculty with an interest in the study of science, engineering, technology or entrepreneurship as social phenomena.
- Students and faculty for whom the development of science and technology in the Asia-Pacific and the U.S. response represent specific instances of more general phenomena.
- Students and faculty whose careers are related to technologies that have robust lives in the Asia-Pacific or are likely to be strongly affected by developments in the region. This group may include university administrators, as the University considers how to respond to new challenges and opportunities raised by the growth of science and technology in the Pacific.