Obama enlists Microsoft, Google execs to help in push to boost R&D spending

Schmidt and Mundie named to science and tech advisory council; Obama calls for increasing research spending in the U.S. to 3% of GDP

April 27, 2009 (Computerworld) WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama moves to increase spending on research and development in the U.S., two of the people who will help him shape the government's science and technology policies are top executives from Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc.

Obama today appointed Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Craig Mundie, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. PCAST is the president's top scientific advisory body, and its 20 members include executives and academics with a wide range of business and scientific expertise.

In a speech at the National Academy of Sciences here today, Obama outlined a plan to increase overall R&D spending to more than 3% of the U.S. gross domestic product. Obama made a sweeping case for boosting research investments, citing everything from the role of science in fighting the swine flu outbreak to the ability of the U.S. to compete globally.

"We will not just meet but we will exceed the level achieved at the height of the space race, through policies that invest in basic and applied research, create new incentives for private innovation, promote breakthroughs in energy and medicine, and improve education in math and science," Obama said.

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