IP: Re:"We don't have the raw talent we need to be on the cutting edge"

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>er: jnoble@pop.dgsys.com
>Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 21:57:19 -0400
>To: farber@cis.upenn.edu, ip-sub-1@majordomo.pobox.com
>From: John Noble <jnoble@dgsys.com>
>Subject: Re: IP: "We don't have the raw talent we need to be on the
>  cutting   edge"
>
>What a cast. New Economy evangelist Paul Romer warns that American students
>are opting out of narrow and deep technological specialization. Stan
>Williams observes that foreign students are filling the gap. "Visionary" VC
>John Doerr attributes the tech crash to an "innovation shortfall". And your
>correspondent, Mr. Ollikainen, pulls it all together, complaining that
>older, more experienced, and presumably more American R&D talent is being
>replaced by younger, less experienced, and presumably cheaper foreign
>talent. If I had to rank the cast in terms of wealth, fame, power,
>influence, and job security:
>
>1. Doerr
>2. Romer
>3. Williams
>4. Ollikainen
>
>If I had to rank the cast in terms of depth of knowledge in a specialized
>field:
>
>1. Ollikainen
>2. Williams
>3. Romer
>4. Doerr
>
>Missing from the cast is the H1B visa-holder, an ambitious foreigner who
>can significantly enhance his opportunities and improve his standard of
>living by coming to the U.S. to join the "New Economy." But he's not going
>to get Doerr's job, or Romer's; he's going to get hired by Williams to
>replace Ollikainen when Doerr demands cost-cuts because Romer's "New
>Growth" still gets measured by the Old Math. (I mean no disrespect to Mr.
>Ollikainen, who may be irreplaceable -- I'm using his name as a placeholder
>for the concern he expressed about job security for older workers on the
>front line of R&D.)
>
>So, if you're an American student, where are you going to place your bet on
>our knowledge-driven "New Economy"? On a Ph.D in Computer Science with a
>master's thesis in nanotechnology, or on an MBA? As for the concern that
>Williams' under-45 researchers may leave and take their ideas with them
>when their visas expire, I'm guessing that the patent applications relating
>to the use of molecules as circuits have been assigned to HP.
>
>John Noble



For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/