The impact of foreign-born scientists and engineers on American nanoscience research

James P. Walsh

Science and Public Policy, 2015, vol. 42, issue 1, 107-120

Abstract: This paper assesses the contribution of foreign-born scientists and engineers to nanoscience innovation. While studies have assessed immigrants’ general contributions to American science and engineering, less is known about their presence within emergent, cutting-edge, and multidisciplinary fields. Multiple sources are utilized to determine the nativity of researchers within nanotechnology, a platform technology with important implications for economic growth, industrial competitiveness, and numerous fields of scientific research. Specifically, it examines the authors of the most highly-cited articles published in the period 1999–2009. Based on comparisons with the prevalence of foreign-born in the scientific and engineering community and general population, the study’s findings reveal that researchers were disproportionally foreign-born, a trend that has grown over time. Additionally, although over-represented among high-impact researchers, there were no significant differences between the institutional locations (academia versus industry) and research activities (productivity and patterns of collaboration) of foreign and native scientists and engineers.

Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:scippl:v:42:y:2015:i:1:p:107-120.

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