NSF has released the National Science Board's biennial Science and Engineering Indicators, a compendium of R&D statistics (including patent counts) and comparison with other countries. This "fat" report is accessible at . It says that the US remains the leading R&D investor -- 44% of world investment, of which 60% is from industry -- but that figure is dropping as the US reduces spending and Asian nations catch up. US technology trade surpluses are sizable but declining, and patent grants are increasing by only 1% per year. 25% of US industrial R&D is non-manufacturing, such as software or communications, up from 5% in the early 1980s. (It's still under 5% for the Japanese.) In absolute dollars, US nondefense R&D was comparable to the total for France, Germany, Japan, and the UK; but Japan and Germany invest a higher percentage of their GDPs. One trend is for US R&D to follow overseas production, with US R&D investment abroad increasing three times faster than domestic R&D. US science and engineering jobs in industry are increasing (esp. in computers and math), although total employment in S&E occupations has declined. S&E doctorates earn 23% more than MS or professional degrees, and 43% more than BS degrees. 23% of the S&E PhDs in the US are foreign-born, with 1/3 having received their PhDs abroad. Other countries also award many S&E doctoral degrees to foreign students: 40% in Japan; 1/3 in France. [Jon Putnam , sci.econ.research, 6/6/96.]

All reports issued by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment during its 23 years can now be accessed in electronic form -- over 220K pages covering wireless communication to virtual reality. The Web version is at . An award-winning 5-volume CD ROM set can be ordered from GPO (202-512-1800; #052-003-01457-2; $23) or from NTIS (703-487-4650; #PB96-501903; $50). [David Jensen , 5/30/96.]

The Office of Technology Assessment was killed last year, but some of its alumni have founded a new Institute for Technology Analysis (Washington, DC). ITA will analyze technology issues and policy options through workshops at which all vested interests are represented, but will solicit contracts from industry, professional societies, and all federal agencies. [Science News, 5/25/96, p. 331.] (Maybe Congress was right to privatize policy evaluation. A congressman is like a football, pushed toward opposing goals by powerful factions. How informed does a football need to be?)