This discussion is derived from the study by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine of how science and technology might assist in countering catastrophic terrorism. This study was initiated by the presidents of the three branches of the Academy shortly after initial discussion with a large group of experts on September 25, 2001.

In this paper we argue that specific institutional and behavioral disjunctures in the process of technology development may systematically impede the flow of financial and other resources to even the most promising nascent technology ventures. Our particular focus is on the role of technology entrepreneurs in managing early stage technology development (ESTD) projects - the transition from invention to innovation.

About 17 years ago, Branscomb wrote a piece of science fiction with the dateline of 2006, 20 years into the future, imagining how two decades of change and growth in science might look from that vantage.

Science has long been connected to innovation and to business. As early as the late 19th century, chemical companies, realizing the commercial potential of science, created the first industrial research laboratories.