Research and development: widening the energy horizon
Research and Development (R and D) is not a recent phenomenon. Only the name is new; the substance is old. Such scientists as Alessandro Volta, James Watt, or Thomas Edison would have been surprised to be told that they were in the R and D business, but, of course, they were. In fact, Edison was in the RDD and D business, the extra two D's standing for Demonstration and Deployment. In their lifetime such people were generally called inventors. Today, there are not only multitudes of individuals who engage in R and D, in small or large commercial groups, in government laboratories, or in universities, but there is also a substantial literature on just what R and D is and how it functions. In this article the authors try to identify current trends and where they might lead us and what policies are either in place or are desirable to draw the greatest benefit from R and D endeavors.
- Research Organization:
- Resources for the Future, Washington, DC
- OSTI ID:
- 5642199
- Journal Information:
- Environment; (United States), Journal Name: Environment; (United States) Vol. 26:3; ISSN ENVTA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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