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nothing to worry about from a flat world…provided we roll up our sleeves； be ready
to compete； get every individual to think about how he or she upgrades his or her
educational skills； and keep investing in the secrets of the American sauce。 Those
chapters were all about what we must do and can do。
This chapter is about how we Americans； individually and collectively； have not been
doing all these things that we should be doing and what will happen down the road
if we don't change course。
The truth is； we are in a crisis now； but it is a crisis that is unfolding very slowly
and very quietly。 It is 〃a quiet crisis；〃 explained Shirley
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Ann Jackson； the 2004 president of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1999。 （Rensselaer
is America's oldest technological college； founded in 1824。） And this quiet crisis
involves the steady erosion of America's scientific and engineering base； which has
always been the source of American innovation and our rising standard of living。
〃The sky is not falling； nothing horrible is going to happen today；〃 said Jackson；
a physicist by training who chooses her words carefully。 〃The U。S。 is still the leading
engine for innovation in the world。 It has the best graduate programs； the best
scientific infrastructure； and the capital markets to exploit it。 But there is a quiet
crisis in U。S。 science and technology that we have to wake up to。 The U。S。 today is
in a truly global environment； and those competitor countries are not only wide awake；
they are running a marathon while we are running sprints。 If left unchecked； this
could challenge our preeminence and capacity to innovate。〃
And it is our ability to constantly innovate new products； services； and companies
that has been the source of America's horn of plenty and steadily widening middle
class for the last two centuries。 It was American innovators who started Google； Intel；
HP； Dell； Microsoft； and Cisco； and it matters where innovation happens。 The fact
that all these companies are headquartered in America means that most of the
high…paying jobs are here； even if these companies outsource or offshore some
functions。 The executives； the department heads； the sales force； and the senior
researchers are all located in the cities where the innovation happened。 And their
jobs create more jobs。 The shrinking of the pool of young people with the knowledge
skills to innovate won't shrink our standard of living overnight。 It will be felt
only in fifteen or twenty years； when we discover we have a critical shortage of
scientists and engineers capable of doing innovation or even just high…value…added
technology work。 Then this won't be a quiet crisis anymore； said Jackson； 〃it will
be the real McCoy。〃
Shirley Ann Jackson knows of what she speaks； because her career exemplifies as well
as anyone's both why America thrived so much in the past fifty years and why it won't
automatically do the same in the next
fifty。 An African…American woman； Jackson was born in Washington； D。C。； in 1946。 She
started kindergarten in a segregated public school but was one of the first public
school students to benefit from desegregation； as a result of the Supreme Court ruling
in Brown v。 Board of Education。 Just when she was getting a chance to go to a better
school； theRussians launched Sputnik in1957； and theU。S。 government became obsessed
with educating young people to become scientists and engineers； a trend that was
intensified by John F。 Kennedy's commitment to a manned space program。 When Kennedy
spoke about putting a man on the moon； Shirley Ann Jackson was one of the millions
of American young people who were listening。 His words； she recalled； 〃inspired；
assisted； and launched many of my generation into science； engineering and
mathematics；〃 and the breakthroughs and inventions they spawned went well beyond the
space program。 〃The space race was really a science race；〃 she said。
Thanks in part to desegregation； both Jackson's inspiration and intellect were
recognized early； and she ultimately became the first African…American woman to earn
a Ph。D。 in physics from MIT （her degree was in theoretical elementary particle
physics）。 From there； she spent many years working for AT&T Bell Laboratories； and
in 1995 was appointed by President Clinton to chair the U。S。 Nuclear Regulatory
Commission。
As the years went by； though； Jackson began to notice that fewer and fewer young
Americans were captivated by national challenges like the race to the moon； or felt
the allure of math； science； and engineering。 In universities； she noted； graduate
enrollment in science and engineering programs； having grown for decades； peaked in
1993； and despite some recent progress； it remains today below the level of a decade
ago。 So the science and engineering generations that followed Jackson's got smaller
and smaller relative to our needs。 By the time Jackson took the job as Rensselaer
Polytechnic's president to put her heart and soul into reinvig…orating American
science and engineering； she realized； she said； that a 〃perfect storm〃 was
brewing…one that posed a real long…term danger to America's economic health…and she
started speaking out about it whenever she could。
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〃The phrase 'the perfect storm' is associated with meteorological events in October
1991；〃 said Jackson in a speech in May 2004； when 〃a powerful weather system gathered
force； ravaging the Atlantic Ocean over the course of several days； ＇and＇ caused the
deaths of several Massachusetts…based fishermen and billions of dollars of damage。
The event became a book； and； later； a movie。 Meteorologists observing the event
emphasized 。 。 。 the unlikely confluence of conditions。。。 in which multiple factors
converged to bring about an event of devastating magnitude。 ＇A＇ similar worst…case
scenario could arrest the progress of our national scientific and technological
capacity。 The forces at work are multiple and complex。 They are demographic； political；
economic； cultural； even social。〃 Individually； each of these forces would be
problematic； added Jackson。 In combination； they could be devastating。 〃For the first
time in more than a century； the United States could well find itself falling behind
other countries in the capacity for scientific discovery； innovation and economic
development。〃
The way to avoid being caught in such a storm is to identify the confluence of factors
and to change course…even though right now the sky is blue； the winds are gentle；
and the water seems calm。 But that is not what has been going on in America in recent
years。 We are blithely sailing along； heading straight for the storm； with both
politicians and parents insisting that no dramatic changes or sacrifices are required
now。 After all； look how calm and sunny it is outside； they tell us。 In the fiscal
year 2005 budget passed by the Republican…led Congress in November 2004； the budget
for the National Science Foundation； which is the federal body most responsible for
promoting research a