Report says tech funding too low

President Clinton's Information Technology Advisory Committee recently said in a written report that the federal government is not providing the funding needed for technology research, especially in the areas of information and communication technology.

"Federal support for research in information technology is dangerously inadequate," the report stated. "Computers on university campuses and other civilian research facilities are falling rapidly behind the state of the art."

Gary Olsen, the assistant dean of the School of Information, said technology research funding has not yet become a problem for the University, even though the Internet and e-mail have become an integral part of everyday life for many students.

NATHAN RUFFER/Daily Third-year graduate students at the Electronic Engineering and Computer Sciences building operate a laser used for special holography and biomedical imaging.

"We have been fairly successful in bringing in technology; although, not enough is directed at our own business, instruction," Olsen said.

According to the August 1998 Interim Report to Clinton by PITAC, "within the next two decades, computer networks will have penetrated more deeply into our society than any previous network, including the telephone, radio, television, transportation and electrical power distribution networks. Information technology will be one of the key factors driving progress in the 21st Century."

Frederick Neidhardt, the University's vice president for research, said the nation is shifting in the right direction, but perhaps not fast enough to meet both educational and research needs.

"I am seeing evidence that many federal agencies are identifying and responding to these needs, but I think a gap still exists between what our faculty can do now and what they want to do, and that will take more bandwidth and improvements in software," Neidhardt said.

The PITAC report recommends, "that the modes of support be significantly broadened" through diversifying modes of research, and establishing virtual and technology centers to center on the information of the future.

Lee Katterman, coordinator of University Research Communications, said the School of Information is one of the primary recipients of funding for Information Technology within the University.

"Funding has skyrocketed in the last few years. The faculty (in the School of Information) has had a hard time finding the time to seek new grants because they are so busy with projects from previous grants," he said.

The University has recently received two multi-million dollar grants from the National Science Foundation to help promote communication between researchers in the United States, Canada and Europe for allying efforts in information technology research.

The committee recommended that the National Science Foundation be appointed as the federal agency to coordinate technology research.

"To the extent that the Congress and federal agencies can increase support for high-speed networking connectivity, we will see the possibilities of information technology research bear fruit much sooner," Neidhardt said.

PITAC reported that in 1985, the Internet connected 2000 computers; now it connects 30 million and continues to double in size each year. It is estimated that by the year 2005 the number of Internet users worldwide could surpass one billion.

09-22-98