Government Research Investment and Nanotechnology Innovations: NSF Funding and USPTO Patent Analysis, 2001-2004.

Abstract

Nanotechnology research has experienced rapid growth since 2001. It has also attracted significant government funding. Many countries have recognized nanotechnology as a critical research domain that promises to revolutionize a wide range of fields and applications. In this chapter, we present an analysis of the funding for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and its relationship to technological innovation (patenting activities) in this field from 2001 to 2004. Using a combination of basic bibliometric and content analysis, we identify growth trends, research topics, the evolution in NSF funding, and commercial patenting activities recorded at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. The patent citations are used to evaluate the impact of the NSF- funded research on nanotechnology development in comparison to other research funding organizations. The analysis shows that the NSF-funded researchers and patents authored by them have significantly higher impact based on patent citation measures in the four-year period than other comparison groups.