Record Detail Back
Making IT Better: Expanding Information Technology Research to Meet Society's Needs
- Share to:
The United States—indeed much of the world—is in the midst of a great transformation wrought by information technology (IT). Fueled by continuing advances in computing and networking capa- bilities, IT has moved out of the laboratories and back rooms of large organizations and now touches people everywhere. The indicators are almost pedestrian: computing and communications devices have entered the mass market, and the language of the Internet has become part of the business and popular vernacular. These changes are often considered to be the outcomes of technology development—the second half of the familiar term “research and development” (R&D)—whose role is to create specific IT systems and products. What is sometimes overlooked is the critical role of the first half of the R&D process: the research that uncovers under- lying principles, fundamental knowledge, and key concepts that fuel the development of numerous products, processes, and services. Research has been an important enabler of IT innovations—from the graphical user interface to the Internet itself—and it will continue to enable the more capable systems of the future, the forms of which have yet to be deter- mined. It has another role as well: in universities especially, it serves to educate and to build a knowledgeable IT workforce. The future of IT, and of the society it increasingly powers, depends on continued investments in research. Despite the incredible progress made over the past five decades, IT is anything but a mature, stable technology. Revolutionary new technologies based on quantum physics, molecular chemistry, and biological processes are being examined as replacements
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS - Organizational Body
0-309-06991-2
NONE
Information Technology
English
2001
1-270
LOADING LIST...
LOADING LIST...