Putting the Science in Super Tuesday
As voters in 14 states on Super Tuesday answer the question of who they want to be their party’s nominee for president of the United States, The Science Coalition (TSC) asked students, researchers and faculty at four universities — including Stony Brook — a different question. Why should science matter to our presidential candidates?
TSC and its 64-member universities are focusing on the need to maintain America’s leadership in scientific discovery and innovation. The initial answers reflect the challenges facing the nation, as well as what people hope for the future.
The presidential candidates’ positions on support for scientific research and their commitment to America’s research enterprise are eminently relevant questions. While the U.S. has long led the world in scientific discovery and innovation – and reaped the benefits of that leadership – other nations are catching up. According to recent data from the National Science Board, China and other Asian nations have been investing aggressively in R&D and higher education over the past decade while the rate of U.S. investments has lagged. While other nations are working to create an innovation dividend, strict spending caps that limit U.S. investments in science risk creating an American innovation deficit.
Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, TSC will ask people why science should matter to the presidential candidates and ask the candidates to tell voters their plan for ensuring strong, consistent federal funding for scientific research.
Video are available at www.ScienceMatters2.me.
Watch for new videos and updates by following @SciCoalition and #ScienceMatters2016.
The Science Coalition is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining strong federal funding of basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation and drive America’s global competitiveness.
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