Across the US, all eyes and ears are focused on two people: Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. With the completion of the Democratic and Republic Conventions, the US presidential election is now officially in full swing. Topping the list of issues concerning Americans are the economy, healthcare, the war in Iraq, taxes, and energy, but some citizens have also insisted that science and innovation be brought to the forefront of America’s political dialogue.

Science Debate 2008, a group which began in November 2007 with six concerned citizens and now has nearly 40,000 members, has proposed over 3,400 questions on the current and future state of America’s science programs, which it would like the candidates to answer. Narrowed down to fourteen broad, yet specific questions, both candidates have participated in this survey.

Discussed here are Obama’s views on how best to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs in the US. A follow-up article will be dedicated to McCain’s policies. Independent market analyst firm Datamonitor believes that Obama’s pledge to increase investment in life science research will not only be a big win for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors—both public and private—but will also have a positive impact on the development of the IT industry that caters to the life sciences.

Once upon a time, the US was a leader in the realm of innovation, but in recent times, it has been slowly slipping down the rankings. Thirty years ago, the US was in third place among developed nations in the ratio of college students graduating from science and engineering programs; now it’s in 17th place.

A decline in government funding for basic research in the physical and life sciences is thought to have discouraged America’s youth from entering such fields. Furthermore, many that pursue higher education do not have a strong background in the sciences as the focus has shifted away from this area. Obama is adamant about bringing change to these trends as he believes that a vigorous research and development program is dependant on encouraging capable people to enter the science fields and provide them with the support needed to be successful in their goals. To this extent, Obama vows to guarantee students across the country access to a strong science curriculum at every grade level, supplemented by hands-on, IT-enhanced experiments.

In addition, Obama will increase the funding for basic research in the sciences, provide a greater number of grants for early-career scientists, and raise support for high-risk, high-payoff research portfolios at the national science agencies. While Obama’s promise to increase budgets for IT-enabled science education and basic research will greatly impact the research communities, it will also fast-track innovation and growth in the US IT sector since Obama recognises that information technology will be a key asset in furthering creativity and discovery in science education and basic research.

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