HNDS-R: Connectivity, Inclusiveness, and the Permeability of Basic Science

科学创新是经济增长的关键决定因素。美国继续竞争成为全球科学领导者，并确保政府在促进科学进步方面的作用。目前有两个政策辩论围绕着政府投资与科学创新和经济增长之间的联系：（1）由于分类差异而错过的机会和（2）学术研究在推动科学前沿方面的作用。通过评估阿帕网，这个项目通过连通性的透镜进入了这些政策辩论的核心。阿帕网是现代互联网的前身，于1969年启动，首次为位于不同城市的科学家提供计算机连接（电子邮件和数据共享设施）。这项研究通过分析阿帕网是否有助于通过使不同机构之间的合作更容易获得来缩小科学生产力的分类差距，从而为当前关于STEM包容性的辩论做出了贡献。第二，由于阿帕网的网络横跨大学和企业，本研究为政策讨论提供了信息，说明学术研究在塑造企业研发方面的社会价值。本研究的第一个目的是调查STEM领域活动差异的结构性原因。研究人员探讨了接触阿帕网，通过大幅扩大自己的科学机构之外的潜在合作者的池，与男性同行相比，女性科学家的新奇和生产力是否有所提高。该项目的第二个目标是为当前关于大学基础科学如何塑造企业创新的辩论提供信息。该项目衡量大学开展的基础科学与企业实验室通过阿帕网开发的应用科学之间的交叉授粉程度。具体来说，研究人员估计了公司实验室的专利产量和与阿帕网相关的大学的引用率。1958年至1980年间ARPA合同的用户友好型大规模数据集将包括机构和个人的信息，并与来自多个来源的数据相匹配，包括加州的计算机历史博物馆和马里兰州的国家档案和记录管理局（奈良）的档案。该项目由科学科学：发现、传播和影响项目、人类网络和数据科学项目以及科学和技术研究项目共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Scientific innovation is a key determinant of economic growth. The United States continues to compete to be a global leader in science and ensure the role of government in promoting scientific progress. Two current policy debates revolve around the connection between government investments and scientific innovation and economic growth: (1) missed opportunities due to categorical disparities and (2) the role of academic research in pushing the scientific frontier. By evaluating Arpanet, this project gets at the heart of these policy debates through the lens of connectivity. Arpanet, the precursor to the modern Internet, was launched in 1969 and for the first time provided computer connectivity (electronic mail and data sharing facilities) between scientists located in different cities. This research contributes to the current debate on inclusiveness in STEM by analyzing whether Arpanet helped to reduce the categorical gap in scientific productivity by making collaborations across different institutions more accessible. Second, the research informs the policy discussion on the social value of academic research in shaping corporate R&D thanks to the fact that Arpanet’s network spanned both universities and corporations.A first goal of the research is to investigate the structural reasons that explain differences in activity in STEM fields. The researchers explore whether exposure to Arpanet, by substantially expanding the pool of potential collaborators outside of one’s own scientific institution, enhanced novelty and productivity of female scientists compared to their male counterparts. The second goal of the project is to inform the current debate on how university-based socially valuable basic science shapes corporate innovation. The project measures the degree of cross-pollination between basic science undertaken at universities and applied science developed by corporate labs through Arpanet. Specifically, the researchers estimate patent production from corporate labs and citation rates from universities related to Arpanet. The user-friendly large-scale datasets on ARPA contracts between 1958 and 1980 will include information on both institutions and individuals and be matched with data from multiple sources including the archives of the Computer History Museum in California, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Maryland. The project is co-funded by the Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact program; the Human Networks and Data Science program; and Science and Technology Studies program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.