Funding a Revolution

The past 50 years have witnessed a revolution in computing and related communications technologies. The contributions of industry and university researchers to this revolution are manifest; less widely recognized is the major role the federal government played in launching the computing revolution and sustaining its momentum. Funding a Revolution examines the history of computing since World War II to elucidate the federal government's role in funding computing research, supporting the education of computer scientists and engineers, and equipping university research labs. It reviews the economic rationale for government support of research, characterizes federal support for computing research, and summarizes key historical advances in which government-sponsored research played an important role. Funding a Revolution contains a series of case studies in relational databases, the Internet, theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality that demonstrate the complex interactions among government, universities, and industry that have driven the field. It offers a series of lessons that identify factors contributing to the success of the nation's computing enterprise and the government's role within it. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Economic Perspectives on Public Support for Research 3 Federal Support for Research Infrastructure 4 The Organization of Federal Support: A Historical Review 5 Lessons From History 6 The Rise of Relational Databases 7 Development of the Internet and the World Wide Web 8 Theoretical Research: Intangible Cornerstone of Computer Science 9 Development in Artificial Intelligence 10 Virtual Reality Comes of Age Bibliography Appendix: Committee Biographies