NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, Paper Six: AerospaceKnowledge Diffusion in the Academic Community: A Report of Phase 3 Activities of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project

摘要

Although the U.S. aerospace industry continues to be the leading positivecontributor to the balance of trade among all merchandise industries, it is experiencing significant changes whose implications may not be well understood. Increasing U.S. collaboration with foreign producers will result in a more international manufacturing environment, which will allow for a more rapid diffusion of technology, increasing pressure on U.S. aerospace companies to push forward with new technological developments, and to make steps designed to maximize the inclusion of recent technological developments into the research and development (R and D) process. To remain a world leader in aerospace, the U.S. must take the steps necessary to improve and maintain the professional competency of aerospace engineers and scientists, and enhance innovation and productivity. How well these objectives are met, and at what cost, depends on a variety of factors, but largely on the ability of aerospace engineers and scientists to acquire and process the results of NASA/DoD funded R and D. The ability of U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists to identify, acquire, and use scientific and technical information (STI) is of paramount importance to the efficiency of the R and D process. Testimony to the central role of STI in the R and D process is found in numerous studies (Fischer, 1980). These studies show, among other things, that U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists devote more time, on the average, to the communication of technical information than to any other scientific or technical activity (Pinelli,et al., 1989).