Major boost in R&D spending expected

After several years of stagnation, U.S. government, industry, and university spending for research and development is expected to grow to more than $215 billion this year - a 4.66 percent increase over the $206 billion that officials at the National Science Foundation estimate was spent in 1997. This growth estimate comes from defense and technology consultant Batelle Institute in Columbus, Ohio, in the group`s publication "R&D Magazine." The expected 1998 increase in R&D spending may signal a trend that may last into the next century, says Jules Duga, Batelle`s senior analyst and the forecast`s principal author. Batelle analysts predict the U.S. government to spend $62.9 billion on R&D in 1988, private industry to spend $143 billion, and universities and non-profit agencies to spend $10.2 billion. Before 1980, the federal government was the dominant U.S. supporter of R&D funding, but since then its share has slipped to less than 30 percent of the total. This trend is expected to continue falling over the next five years, Batelle analysts say. For more information, contact Jules Duga at Batelle by phone at 614-424-6512, or Tim Studt at "R&D Magazine" by phone at 847-390-2623. - J.K.