LAKE
GEORGE, N.Y., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 90% of
Americans believe that continued U.S. global leadership
in technology is important to the nation's economy,
and more than 76% believe that funding for research
into the new fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology
should be a priority of both federal and state governments.
In an online survey of 400 respondents conducted by
GolinHarris, 60% said the government should increase
current funding levels for nanotechnology research.
"Americans clearly understand the importance of
U.S. global leadership in technology," said Lane
Bailey, worldwide director of public affairs and manager
of the firm's Nanoscience Practice in Washington, DC.
"While most Americans know little about nanoscience,
when the applications of current research and the strong
global competition are detailed, they feel strongly
that the U.S. must increase federal research spending
to ensure American leadership in nanotechnology."
Current U.S. spending on nanotechnology research is
$900 million per year under the Bush Administration's
2003-2004 budget. In 2002, spending outside the U.S.
was twice what the U.S. government spent on nanotechnology
research during the same year. U.S. companies and the
federal government are not keeping pace, and U.S. leadership
in this new area of technology development is threatened.
"These results demonstrate that the American people
understand that tomorrow's economic growth and national
security depend on today's investments in scientific
research," said Daryl Hatano, Vice President for
Public Policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association
(SIA). "It is particularly telling that likely
voters placed an even higher priority on U.S. leadership
in technology than respondents who indicated that they
were not likely to vote."
Other results from the survey include: *
60% of Americans believe it is very important for
state governments to
also get involved in nanoscience research funding;
* 80% of Americans cannot name a single company that
is a leader in
nanotechnology development; and
* the older you are, the more you understand the importance
of U.S.
leadership. Younger Americans may take U.S. technology
leadership for
granted.
Nanoscience
is the science of making things very small; and refers
to a new array of machines and materials whose key
parts are less than 10 nanometers, about 10,000 times
smaller than the width of a human hair.
The survey results were released by GolinHarris at
the annual Albany Symposium on Global Technology in
Lake George, NY, on September 14. The survey was conducted
by GolinHarris in conjunction with Sawchuk Brown Associates,
an Albany, NY-based public affairs agency, and the
SIA from September 8-9.
Founded in 1956, GolinHarris is a full-service public
relations firm, providing professional counsel and
strategic communications programs to clients through
27 offices around the world. GolinHarris clients include
McDonald's Corporation, Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.,
the Lowe's Companies, Nintendo of America Inc., Texas
Instruments, State Farm Insurance, Sprint Corp., Florida
Department of Citrus, and the William Wrigley Jr.
Co. GolinHarris is headquartered in Chicago. It is
part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)
.
Source: GolinHarris
CONTACT: Shawn Bullard of GolinHarris, +1-703-741-7545,
sbullard@golinharris.com; or David Singer of Sawchuk
Brown Associates,
+1-518-462-0218, ext. 147, dsinger@sawchukbrown.com
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