President Donald Trump has sent Office of Science and Technology Policy Director and past Wash100 Award winner Michael Kratsios a letter articulating the three goals that need to be achieved to bring about what the president described as “the Golden Age of American Innovation.”
Revitalizing US Innovation
The first goal is to ensure that the U.S. continues to be the global leader when it comes to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum information science, according to an article the White House published Thursday.
Part of this goal is for the U.S. to stay ahead of its competitors technologically. “Rival nations are pushing hard to overtake the United States, and we must blaze a bold path to maintain our technological supremacy,” Trump said in the letter.
The second goal is to revitalize the science and technology enterprise in the U.S. The president called for new paradigms in research and the establishment of an ecosystem that, among other things, promotes meritocracy and attracts top talent.
The third goal involves ensuring that scientific progress and technological innovation drive economic growth and improve the lives of people.
Cementing US Technological Leadership
Reflecting on U.S. industriousness following World War II and the challenges faced by the country today, Trump said in his letter that “today, rivals abroad seek to usurp America’s position as the world’s greatest maker of marvels and producer of knowledge. We must recapture the urgency which propelled us so far in the last century. The time has come to return to our roots and renew the American scientific enterprise for the century ahead.”
Regarding Kratsios’ role in the effort, Trump said, “I am calling upon you to blaze a trail to the next frontiers of science. We have the opportunity to cement America’s global technological leadership and usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation. We are not just competing with other nations; we are seeking, striving, fighting to make America greater than ever before.”
