The scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength, according to a National Academy of Sciences report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.”

The report recommends enhanced math and science education in grade school and high school, a more hospitable environment for scientific research and training at the college and graduate levels, an increase in federal funds for basic scientific research and a mix of tax incentives and other measures to foster high-paying jobs in groundbreaking industries.

Inventor Dean Kamen also called for changes in the patent system that preserve protections for individual inventors.