4 February 2016

NSB Science and Engineering Indicators Report of 2016

Heather Bloemhard Vanderbilt University

The National Science Board (NSB) is essentially the board of directors for the National Science Foundation. By law, NSB must report to the President and the Congress on "indicators of the state of science and engineering in the United States" in each even-numbered year. The Science and Engineering Indicators report (SEI) fulfills this requirement.

The press release, "U.S. Science and Technology Leadership Increasingly Challenged by Advances in Asia," has a top-level summary of the report.

The report presents data on 58 science and engineering indicators; this includes indicators that measure the performance and preparedness of K-12 students and teachers, the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees conferred, the size of the STEM workforce, the level of investment in research and development (R&D), and the level of return on that investment in R&D. The NSB SEI 2016 website allows you to delve into the report as much or as little as you'd like. I'll highlight some of the portions that have data specific to the physical sciences, and I encourage you to browse the website and report.

Chapter 1. Elementary and Secondary Mathematics and Science Education

 

 

Chapter 2. Higher Education in Science and Engineering

 

 

Chapter 3. Science and Engineering Labor Force

 

 

Chapter 4. Research and Development: National Trends and International Comparison

 

 

Chapter 5. Academic Research and Development

 

 

Chapter 6. Industry, Technology, and the Global Marketplace

Chapter 7. Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding