Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
29.2.7 interdisciplinary Studies and Nanobiotechnology
As.noted.earlier,.nanobiotechnology.occurs.at.the.intersection.of.several.scientiic.disci-
plines..Researchers.in.this.ield.will.likely.specialize.in.one.ield.in.the.life.or.physical.sci-
ences.but.will.need.to.collaborate.with.researchers.in.other.disciplines..These.researchers.
must.have.an.understanding.and.appreciation.of.the.tools,.methods,.and.cultures.of.other.
ields.. The. physical. and. life. sciences. have. different. cultures. and. expectations. that. may.
be.challenging.when.establishing.collaborations..Biological.research.is.traditionally.done.
in.individual.faculty.laboratories.with.a.handful.of.collaborators..Physics.researchers.are.
more.likely.to.work.in.large.centers.producing.papers.with.several.coauthors..Expectations.
of. mathematical. rigor. can. also. be. dramatically. different. across. the. ields. (Bialek. and.
Botstein.2004)..A.nanobiotechnologist.will.need.a.broader.mathematical.background.than.
those.required.for.a.traditional.biology.program.in.order.to.understand.the.research.from.
a.physical.scientist.perspective.
29.2.8 Challenges in the Workforce
The.development.of.a.nanobiotechnology.workforce.is.subject.to.all.of.the.challenges.that.
have.been.encountered.in.recent.years.in.the.development.of.a.robust.science.and.engi-
neering.workforce..The.growth.of.the.science.and.engineering.workforce.in.the.United.
States.is.expected.to.slow.as.the.labor.force.reaches.traditional.retirement.age..The.federal.
government.has.been.particularly.challenged.over.the.past.two.decades.(National.Science.
Board.2010)..The.number.of.scientists.and.engineers.working.for.the.federal.government.
fell. from. 45,000. in. 1990. to. 28,000. in. 2000.. This. was. caused,. in. part,. by. the. large-scale.
retirement.of.the.baby.boomer.science.and.engineering.workforce..The.potential.problem.
of. the. stagnating. workforce. is. caused,. in. part,. by. the. waning. interest. of. younger. gen-
erations.in.science.and.technology.studies.(Fonash.2001;.Jackson.2003)..While.this.trend.
challenges.all.science.and.engineering.ields,.its.effects.could.be.particularly.strong.for.
the.nanobiotechnology.industry.in.its.infancy..Following.are.some.areas.of.remedy.that.
have.been.identiied.
29.2.9 immigration Policy
A. quarter. of. all. college-educated. workers. and. 40%. of. doctorate. holders. in. science. engi-
neering.occupations.were.foreign.born.(National.Science.Board.2010)..Immigration.policy.
developments. since. 2001. have. made. it. more. challenging. for. this. talent. to. remain. work-
ing. in. the. United. States.. In. addition,. many. foreign. students. are. beginning. to. receive.
increasingly.attractive.career.opportunities.in.their.home.countries..India.and.China,.in.
particular,.have.been.proactive.in.offering.faculty.positions.to.scholars.educated.abroad.
(Cyranoski.et.al..2011)..Changes.in.immigration.law.will.be.required.to.make.it.easier.to.
retain.this.portion.of.the.science,.engineering,.and.nanobiotechnology.workforce.
29.2.10 underrepresented groups
Women.and.minorities.make.up.56%.of.the.total.American.workforce.but.are.underrepre-
sented.in.science.and.engineering.(Bureau.of.Labor.Statistics)..Women.accounted.for.27%.of.
the.science.and.engineering.labor.force.in.2007..African.American.and.ethnic.minorities.rep-
resented.only.10%.of.the.science.and.engineering.labor.force.(National.Science.Board.2010)..
Science. and. engineering. talent. in. these. groups. is. being. .underutilized.. Concerted. efforts.
must.be.made.to.attract.students.from.these.groups.into.nanobiotechnology.programs.
