State of North Carolina: North Carolina board of science and technology.

• Author: McMahan, Robert K.
• Position: Editorial

I am pleased to introduce this issue of Innovation North Carolina, a forum for sharing information from North Carolina companies and institutions about their research programs and achievements. As we all know, our economy is in transition--a transition that will ultimately rival the industrial revolution in its impact and importance. Science, technology and knowledge are the primary driving forces of change and growth across what is now a globally integrated economy. Advances in fields such as biotechnology, electronics, computers, materials and chemicals are changing the way we work, the way we play, the way we communicate and the way we produce.

These changes are shrinking the world. We can now interact and compete with others individually--but on a global scale. Economic activity is more and more knowledge-based, and productivity and employment growth increasingly depend on stimulating the economy-wide diffusion of new and innovative products and processes.

The increasing pace of technological innovation that now supports the growth of our economy demands that science and technology be an integral part of our state's economic development agenda. It is. In fact...