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



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