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| Overview |
Today, at the beginning of a new millennium, networking
and information technologies are transforming our world, generating
unprecedented American prosperity, and building revolutionary new
infrastructures for commerce, communication, human development, national
security, and scientific research. In this remarkable period of transformation,
the United States stands preeminent as the world's information technology
pioneer, research leader, and foremost developer and deployer of cutting-edge
computing, high-speed telecommunications, and information technology
(IT) systems.
Like the road, railway, electrical, and telephone systems fostered
by Federal investment in earlier eras, networking and IT form the
new infrastructure for national development - an infrastructure more
powerful, complex, multidimensional, and far-reaching than any of
its predecessors. In the national defense and national security arenas
alone, computing and networking technologies underpin every advanced
U.S. capability.
"When historians look back a decade or so hence," Federal
Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a March 6, 2000, address
on the New Economy, "I suspect they will conclude we are now
living through a pivotal period in American economic history. ...
It is the growing use of information technology throughout the economy
that makes the current period unique."
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National goals of
networking and information technology R&D |
The New Economy arose from the Nation's immense industrial
and entrepreneurial enterprise. But it was Federal investment in fundamental,
long-term networking and IT research and development (R&D) that
launched the digital revolution, and that investment continues to
play a critical role in generating the technological breakthroughs
the country needs to meet vital national objectives and achieve the
full promise of information technology in such public benefits as:
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- Immediate on-site medical care, in the home and at remote locations
- Reliable, failure-resistant systems for such mission-critical
applications as air-traffic control, defense, financial transactions,
life support, and power supply
- Reduction of battlefield risk for military personnel
- Industrial process and product modeling, visualization, and
analytical capabilities, such as in aircraft design and production,
automotive efficiency and safety, and molecular synthesis of new
drugs
- Expanded e-commerce with assured security and privacy of information
- On-demand universal access to education and knowledge resources
- Advanced computing capabilities that underpin the Nation's leadership
in science and technology, including the biotechnology revolution,
and the success of critical civilian and national security missions
of the Federal government
- More accurate weather forecasting and improved environmental
analysis and decision making
- High-performance networking and information systems for emergency
and disaster management
- Access to information anytime, anywhere, with any device
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Returns on Federal
IT investment |
As the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee
(PITAC) noted in its 1999 report on the status of U.S. information
technology research, bipartisan support of Federal investment in fundamental
networking and information technology R&D over the last several
decades has produced "spectacular" returns for the economy
and for society generally.
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Catalyst for economic growth
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The U.S. House of Representatives reached a similar
conclusion in its findings on the Networking and Information Technology
Research and Development Act (H.R. 2086), which the House passed in
2000, saying: "Information technology is recognized as a catalyst
for economic growth and prosperity. ... Fundamental research in information
technology has enabled the information revolution."
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Technical innovation for improved living standards
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Senate findings on the Federal Research Investment Act
(S. 2046), passed by the Senate in 2000, concluded that "technical
innovation is the principal driving force behind the long-term economic
growth and increased standards of living of the world's modern industrial
societies. ... Research and development across all Federal agencies
have been effective in creating technology that enhances the American
quality of life."
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Skilled researchers and technical workers
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Both pieces of legislation also noted the unique role
of Federal research investment in training the bulk of the Nation's
scientists, engineers, educators, and technical workers, with the
Senate bill noting that Federal research support creates "more
than simply world-class research - it creates world-class researchers."
"Fundamental research in information technology has contributed
to the creation of new industries and new, high-paying jobs,"
said the House bill. "Scientific and engineering research and
the availability of a skilled workforce are critical to continued
economic growth driven by information technology."
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Global stakes
in IT R&D |
The global stakes for the U.S. in maintaining preeminence
in IT R&D are high. In the past, the benefits of any single area
of scientific research might be limited in scope - enabling, for example,
development of one weapon or treatment for one disease. But information
technology is by its nature pervasive, providing tools, systems, and
capabilities that daily touch hundreds of millions of citizens as
well as operate the Nation's most critical defense and civilian infrastructures.
The balanced, diversified portfolio of Networking and Information
Technology R&D (NITRD) activities not only advances vital Federal
missions but helps the Government sustain economic growth and competitiveness
and support overarching public goals in education, environmental management,
health care, law enforcement, productivity, scientific research, transportation
safety, and other national priority areas.
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About the multiagency research program
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NITRD is the collaborative research framework of the
government agencies whose critical missions require advanced information
technology R&D. The multiagency research effort is the successor
of the High Performance Computing and Communications Program established
by Congress in 1991. The NITRD agencies have built a 10-year record
of highly successful coordinated and collaborative accomplishments
in multiagency projects and in partnerships with industrial and academic
researchers. The multiagency approach leverages the expertise and
perspectives of scientists and technology users from agencies, Federal
laboratories, universities, and corporations who are working on a
broad range of IT research questions across the spectrum of human
uses of information technology.
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Participating agencies
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The NITRD agencies are: Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality (AHRQ), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),
Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA), DOE Office of Science, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes
of Health (NIH), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National
Security Agency (NSA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and Office
of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology
(ODUSD [S&T]).
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Program Component Areas (PCAs)
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The major research emphases of the NITRD effort are
reflected in Program Component Areas (PCAs), which are led by Coordinating
Groups of program managers from participating agencies. These groups
confer regularly to coordinate the objectives and activities of the
multiagency projects in their specialized research areas.The PCAs
are:
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- High End Computing (HEC), which includes both HEC R&D and
HEC Infrastructure & Applications (I&A)
- Human Computer Interaction & Information Management (HCI&IM)
- Large Scale Networking (LSN)
- Software Design and Productivity (SDP)
- High Confidence Software and Systems (HCSS)
- Social, Economic, and Workforce Implications of IT and IT Workforce
Development (SEW)
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In addition to the PCAs, the Federal Information Services
and Applications Council (FISAC) is chartered to facilitate partnerships
between the Federal IT R&D and non-R&D communities to promote
early application of advanced computing, information, and communications
technologies within the Federal government.
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Interagency Working Group on IT R&D
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NITRD activities are coordinated by the Interagency
Working Group (IWG) on IT R&D, made up of representatives from
the participating agencies. The work of the IWG and its PCA Coordinating
Groups is supported by the National Coordination Office (NCO) for
IT R&D.
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Program funding
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Funding for agency NITRD activities is implemented through
standard budgeting and appropriations processes that involve the participating
agencies and departments, the Office of Management and Budget, and
the Congress. Some activities are funded and managed by individual
agencies. Others involve multiagency collaboration, with mutual planning
and mutual defense of budgets. For some highly complex, mission-critical
R&D efforts, such as the HEC R&D program, agencies create
integrated programs and budgets and detailed management plans.
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About this Supplement to the President's
FY 2002 Budget |
"Networking and Information Technology Research
and Development" is a Supplement to the President's FY 2002 Budget
that describes the Federal NITRD activities. As required under the
High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, the Supplement covers current
work and planned directions for FY 2002. FY 2001 budget estimates
and FY 2002 requests for the multiagency program, by PCA and by agency,
are shown on pages 34-35.
This year's Supplement is organized around key research challenges
that must be overcome to ensure continuing U.S. leadership in advanced
computing and networking and in all the defense and non-defense sectors
that increasingly rely on these capabilities. The Supplement also
describes some of the significant national applications of IT that
can have a transforming impact on critical infrastructures nationwide,
to the benefit of all citizens. The Nation's ability to deploy these
powerful emerging applications will depend, however, on many successful
results of the fundamental research in component technologies outlined
in this report.
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Information
on the Web |
Copies of NCO publications, including this report, and
links to participating agency and related Web sites can be found at:
http://www.nitrd.gov/
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