Congressional Staff Briefing
on behalf of the
Chief Technology Officers of the
Computer Systems Policy Project

Forest Baskett
Senior Vice President of Corporate Research and Development and
Chief Technology Officer
Silicon Graphics, Inc.

Facts:

• Federal support of R&D has been the innovation engine behind our industry.
• The days of continued total growth in that support are over.
• Industrial competitiveness has expanded our industry, but reduced our internal spending on R&D.
• We have been and are increasingly dependent on both university research and university trained professionals to fuel our continued growth, leadership and prosperity.
• There is no reasonable distinction between basic and applied research.

Goals we endorse:

• Merit review for federal R&D support.
• Support for programs, not organizations or institutes or institutions.
• Support that generates both research and training.
• Diversity in federal R&D support organizations.
• Support for both science and engineering, especially at universities.
• Support for both theory and experiment. The experiments test the theories and train the students. Experiments help us imagine the future.