Despite the plethora of socially dominant technologies that have emerged from the commercial sector, federal research still plays a major role in shaping both government and society. Government research always has been essential during wartime, and peacetime science often has spawned technologies that have had wide-ranging consequences. Now, with advanced electronics technologies defining form and function in all aspects of life—both civilian and military—ongoing research stands to provide greater effect in both the near and long terms.

However, the federal government is not just plunging headlong into every area of science. Commercial research spending far outpaces its government counterpart, and federal officials would be foolish to spend large sums of taxpayer money on efforts that would duplicate those of the private sector. Instead, government research programs tend to focus on two general areas: niche technologies in which commercial interest is nil because of small market potential, and high-risk areas where research costs are too daunting for private sector firms.

And within these two areas lie specific technologies that are targeted either for significant long-term potential or pressing government needs. The Global War on Terrorism has changed the focus of many federal research and development efforts, particularly within the military service laboratories and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Those efforts often aim to speed urgently needed advances to fill immediate requirements for warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But civilian government research also addresses many warfighter needs. These efforts usually take the form of basic research into new technologies that are beyond the reach of private sector scientists and are not on the military’s immediate wish list. The archipelago of U.S. national laboratories continuously generates advances that broaden the scope of scientific knowledge and open the door to new systems and applications.

Some of the work being performed in national laboratories today has the potential for revolutionizing the physical world. More than one laboratory is exploring the boundaries of nanotechnology, which offers the potential of being a truly disruptive technology. Some of the basic research being conducted in this arena is breaking new ground in materials and even atomic structures.

Other civilian government-funded research occurs outside of federal laboratories, often in academia. This may range from basic research to development of specific technologies or items. This research may have immediate dual-use applications, or it may be geared toward a specific need but offering potential spinoffs.

One particularly promising area of civilian government research aims to draw from both military and commercial communications advances. It would adapt military cognitive radio technology and combine it with commercial networking to create cognitive networks that would go far beyond current networking concepts. This represents a niche technology that neither the military nor the private sector would pursue directly, but it has the potential to revolutionize applications in all realms of information systems.

So although the military is drawing heavily from commercial technology progress, government research continues to strive for important technological breakthroughs. As long as there are technology needs that cannot be filled by the private sector, government research will continue to play a major role in ensuring continued scientific progress.