2021年1月15日
埃裡克·S·蘭德博士（Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.）
所長、創始主任
麻省理工學院-哈佛大學博德研究所
親愛的蘭德博士：
1944年，富蘭克林·羅斯福總統向他的科學顧問萬尼瓦爾·布什（Vannevar Bush）博士去信，詢問二戰後應如何最大限度地利用科學與技術來造福國家的衛生健康、經濟繁榮以及國家安全。布什博士以一份題為《科學——無盡的疆域》（Science—The Endless Frontier）的報告做出了迴應。後來，這份報告為美國國家科學基金會（National Science Foundation）的成立打下了基礎，並推動了美國戰後至今75年來的科學發現。
這些年來，人類歷史上一些最重大的科學進步是在美國的引領下完成的。但四分之三個世紀過去了，我們的生活面貌已經發生改變。技術和工業有起有落，數字化領域的出現重新定義了我們創新、交流和體驗世界的方式。而且，發現本身的性質也在急遽改變——高遠至外層太空，複雜至微觀世界，這些在不久前還是無法想象的。
鑑於此，我們應當革新並重振我國的科學技術戰略，為下一個75年鋪就堅實的道路，讓我們的子孫後代生活在一個更健康、更安全、更公平、更和平、更繁榮的世界。這需要學術界、醫療界、工業界和政府部門中最傑出的人才匯聚起來，打破那些過於侷限我們視野、阻礙我們進步的樊籬，並將美國人民的需求、利益、憂慮和渴望放在首位。
羅斯福總統曾要求布什博士考慮四個具體問題。今天，我委派給你和你的同事們五個議題。我希望，你們能夠與美國社會多元的科學領軍機構進行廣泛而透明的合作，並吸引更廣泛的美國公眾參與，就聯邦政府應採取的總體戰略、具體行動、體系創新提出建議，讓我們國家繼續充分利用科學技術的力量，為美國人民謀取利益。
1. 從這次瘟疫中，我們能學到哪些是可以做的——或者說應該做的——以解決公共衛生方面最廣泛的需求？
在我們急迫地與這場冠狀病毒大流行鬥爭之際，也必須努力應對我們所看到的挑戰、不平等和機遇，汲取當下的教訓，以便更好地應對未來。
病原微生物可能導致新發流行病，帶來潛在生物武器，並發展出抗生素耐藥性，我們怎樣才能大幅提升快速應對此類威脅的能力？針對癌症等其他型別疾病，我們怎樣才能加速開發、開展臨床治療？在患者同意的前提下，我們該怎樣快速共享健康資訊，以建立更智慧、更有效的醫療保健系統？我們該怎樣利用遠端醫療來改善全美人民的健康狀況？
2. 應對氣候變化，該怎樣利用科技的突破來創造新的、有力的解決方案，推動以市場為導向的變革，刺激經濟增長，提升人民健康水平，增加就業崗位，特別在那些落後的社群？
氣候變化是切實存在的威脅，亟需採取大膽的應對措施。但與此同時，解除這一威脅的必要性，也代表著一個非凡的機遇，可以創造性地投入國內基礎設施建設，增強美國的穩定，推動環境正義，創造新的尖端產業和數百萬個高薪崗位，提升美國在未來的領導地位。
要實現我們對2050年淨零碳排放的承諾，需要部署好現有的美國製造的清潔能源技術，令其物有所值；需要革新碳捕獲和碳儲存方案；需要激勵美國的技術創新，開發能夠重塑市場的新零碳技術。這一努力將鞏固我們未來的經濟，在全國社群創造可持續的、有工會保障的高薪崗位，並重申美國在全球氣候變化問題上的領導地位。
美國有著悠久的、成功的、兩黨支援的歷史，去利用聯邦政府的研究、採購和政策助推關鍵產業的發展，曾經，我們在半導體行業的開拓和領先地位就是這樣取得的。在維護自然環境的同時，我們應當如何重啟這一模式，向我們的後代交付一個更健康、更安全、更繁榮的且可持續發展的未來？
3. 在關係到經濟繁榮與國家安全的關鍵技術產業領域，美國應如何確保在未來佔據世界領先地位，尤其是與中國相比？
從人工智慧到合成生物學，新技術出現得越來越快，有望改變我們的生活。每一項技術都帶來了一系列清晰的機遇和挑戰，都能夠極大地影響就業機會、社會公平和國家安全。
其他國家——尤其是中國——正在以前所未有的投入，竭盡所能地促進新興產業的增長，衝擊著美國的科技領導地位。在那些定義明日經濟的領域，我們追趕競爭對手的能力決定著美國的未來。
美國的正確戰略必然迥異於我們的對手，且極有可能迥異於我們過去的方針。國家的投資力度應該有多大，快速推動關鍵技術研發的國家戰略支柱是什麼？需要什麼樣的結構體系、基礎設施和政策，來加快實驗室科研、專案開發和市場之間的銜接？我們應怎樣加強和擴大學術界、產業界和政府之間的聯絡？這一點在歷史上一直是取得技術進步和保護國家安全的決定性因素。更重要的是，我們如何才能確保技術進步會創造，而不是縮減高質量的就業機會？
4. 我們如何才能保證整個國家和所有美國人民都能充分共享科學與技術的成果？
對於不同的種族、性別、經濟狀況和地理範圍，科學技術帶來的利益仍然分佈不均。我們怎樣才能將不同背景的美國人都納入科學技術創造和回報之中？怎樣讓科技中心在全國各地蓬勃發展，以推動每一個美國人的家鄉經濟？怎樣確保醫學進步惠及所有美國人，並大幅降低不同種族、不同社會經濟體的健康狀況差距？
5. 我們如何才能保證美國科學與技術的長期健康發展？
美國科學技術的繁榮，源於由人力、政策和機構組成的豐富生態系統。這一生態系統必須得到滋養和振興，才能在瞬息萬變的世界中取得成功。
我們應怎樣保護政府內部的科學誠信，使政府成為科學家和技術人員的首選工作地？我們應怎樣解決學術研究結構所面對的壓力，並扶持聯邦政府資助的創新模式？我們應怎樣重新構想和改造STEM教育，強化教師能力，配置新技術，以最佳化教育體驗？我們怎樣才能令美國繼續吸引全世界最優秀、最聰明的人才？
我相信，這些問題的答案將促成未來幾年內我們國家在新的道路上起航——一條兼顧尊嚴與被尊重、兼顧繁榮與安全、兼顧發展與共同目標的道路。誠然，這些問題很大，但美國解決問題的能力更大。我期待收到你的建議，並與你、與你的團隊、與廣大的科學界共同合作，找出解決方案，減輕美國人民的日常負擔，帶來新工作、新機遇，並恢復美國在世界舞臺上的領導地位。
真誠的
小約瑟夫·R·拜登
英文原文
January 15, 2021
Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.
President and Founding Director
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Dear Dr. Lander:
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authored a letter to his science advisor, Dr. Vannevar Bush, posing the question of how science and technology could best be applied to benefit the nation’s health, economic prosperity, and national security in the decades that would follow the Second World War. Dr. Bush’s response came in the form of a report, titled Science—the Endless Frontier, that would form the basis of the National Science Foundation and set the course of scientific discovery in America for the next 75 years.
Those years have brought about some of the most consequential scientific advancements in human history with America leading the way. But three quarters of a century later, the contours of our lives have changed. Technologies and industries have risen and fallen, and the emergence of the digital arena has redefined the ways we innovate, communicate, and experience the world. And the nature of discovery itself has changed by leaps and bounds—reaching celestial heights, and microscopic complexities, that were unimaginable not so long ago.
For this reason, I believe it is essential that we refresh and reinvigorate our national science and technology strategy to set us on a strong course for the next 75 years, so that our children and grandchildren may inhabit a healthier, safer, more just, peaceful, and prosperous world. This effort will require us to bring together our brightest minds across academia, medicine, industry, and government—breaking down the barriers that too often limit our vision and our progress, and prioritizing the needs, interests, fears, and aspirations of the American people.
President Roosevelt asked Dr. Bush to consider four specific questions. Today, I am tasking you and your colleagues with five. My hope is that you, working broadly and transparently with the diverse scientific leadership of American society and engaging the broader American public, will make recommendations to our administration on the general strategies, specific actions, and new structures that the federal government should adopt to ensure that our nation can continue to harness the full power of science and technology on behalf of the American people.
1. What can we learn from the pandemic about what is possible—or what ought to be possible— to address the widest range of needs related to our public health?
Even as we work urgently to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, we must learn from this moment by grappling with the challenges, inequities, and opportunities we’ve seen in order to better prepare for the future.
How can we dramatically improve our ability to rapidly address threats from pathogens, including emerging pandemics, potential bioweapons, and antibiotic resistance? How can we dramatically speed our ability to develop and conduct clinical trials of therapies for other types of diseases like cancer? How can we enable the rapid sharing, with patient consent, of health information to build a smarter and more effective healthcare system? How can we use telemedicine to improve health for all Americans?
2. How can breakthroughs in science and technology create powerful new solutions to address climate change—propelling market-driven change, jump-starting economic growth, improving health, and growing jobs, especially in communities that have been left behind?
Climate change represents an existential threat that requires bold and urgent action. But at the same time, the necessity of solving it also presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to make groundbreaking investments in our infrastructure, enhance America’s resilience, promote environmental justice, and create new cutting-edge industries and millions of good-paying jobs that will advance American leadership for generations to come.
Achieving our commitment of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will require deploying existing, cost-effective clean energy technologies manufactured in America; drawing on innovative solutions to capture and store carbon; and spurring American technological ingenuity to develop new zero-carbon technologies that can reshape the marketplace. This effort will fortify our economy for the future, create a durable stream of good-paying union jobs in communities across the country, and reassert American leadership on climate change around the globe.
The United States has a long, successful, and bipartisan history of using federal research, purchasing, and policies to help jumpstart critical industries—including, for example, when we pioneered and led the semiconductor industry. How can we refresh that model to deliver a healthier, safer, more prosperous, and sustainable future for our children, while preserving our natural environment for future generations?
3. How can the United States ensure that it is the world leader in the technologies and industries of the future that will be critical to our economic prosperity and national security, especially in competition with China?
From artificial intelligence to synthetic biology, new technologies are emerging in increasingly rapid cycles that promise to transform our lives. Each arrives with a distinct set of promises and challenges—and each carries the capacity to dramatically impact job creation, equity, and national security.
Other countries—especially China—are making unprecedented investments and doing everything in their power to promote the growth of new industries and eclipse America's scientific and technological leadership. Our future depends on our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the fields that will define the economy of tomorrow.
The right strategy for the United States will necessarily differ from that of our competitors, but it will also likely differ from our own past playbook. What is the right level of national investment, and what are the pillars of a national strategy that will rapidly propel both research and development of critical technologies? What structures, infrastructures, and policies are needed to accelerate the path from research laboratories to development projects to the marketplace? How can we strengthen and expand the connections between academia, industry, and government, which have historically been crucial for advancing technology and protecting national security? And, importantly, how do we ensure that technological advances create rather than diminish high-quality jobs?
4. How can we guarantee that the fruits of science and technology are fully shared across America and among all Americans?
The benefits of science and technology remain unevenly distributed across racial, gender, economic, and geographic lines. How can we ensure that Americans of all backgrounds are drawn into both the creation and the rewards of science and technology? How can we ensure that science and technology hubs flourish in every part of the country, driving economic development in every American hometown? How can we ensure that advances in medical science benefit the health of all Americans, including substantially reducing racial and socioeconomic health disparities?
5. How can we ensure the long-term health of science and technology in our nation?
Science and technology have flourished in the United States because of a rich ecosystem of people, policies, and institutions. This ecosystem must be nurtured and refreshed to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
How can we protect scientific integrity within government—and make government a premier destination for scientists and technologists to work? How can we address stresses on academic research labs and promote creative models for federal research support? How can we reimagine and transform STEM education, empowering teachers and deploying technology to enhance the educational experience? How can we ensure the United States will remain a magnet for the best and brightest minds throughout the world?
I believe that the answers to these questions will be instrumental in helping our nation embark on a new path in the years ahead—a path of dignity and respect, of prosperity and security, of progress and common purpose. They are big questions, to be sure, but not as big as America’s capacity to address them. I look forward to receiving your recommendations—and to working with you, your team, and the broader scientific community to turn them into solutions that ease everyday burdens for the American people, spark new jobs and opportunities, and restore American leadership on the world stage.