U.S. Government Funding for Science and Technology Cooperation with Russia

Book excerpt: The United States government spent, on average, $350 million a year in the 1990s to support science and technology (S & T) cooperation with Russia. The amount rose in the early 1990s, peaked in 1996, and then began dropping in the late 1990s. When aggregated by dollars spent, the areas most likely to be the subject of cooperation are aerospace and aeronautical projects, engineering research, energy, and earth sciences. When counted by the number of projects (rather than funds committed), earth sciences-including geology, ocean studies, and atmospheric sciences-account for the largest number. Earlier RAND studies suggested that, during the mid-1990s, cooperation with Russia claimed more government research and development (R & D) dollars than any other country. In order to examine the relationship in more detail, RAND collected and analyzed data at the project level and surveyed agency officials about specific projects and programs. These data were aggregated into categories created by RAND. This report provides an analytic, cross-agency overview, presenting a broad picture of the U.S.-Russia S & T relationship between 1994 and 1999.