How Interdisciplinary Is Nano? Alan Porter Technology Policy & Assessment Center

Transcription

1 How Interdisciplinary Is Nano? Alan Porter Technology Policy & Assessment Center

2 Outline 1. Our datasets and projects 2. Locating Nano among the disciplines 3. Gauging Nano interdisciplinarity 4. Discussion

3 The GT Nano Datasets constructed in support of: Center for Nano in Society (Arizona State Univ.) subproject (NSF) NC State Univ. Partnership for Innovation [linking nano academic researchers to industry](nsf) GT SciSIP project measuring & mapping research knowledge transfer (focused on nano)(nsf) And more [e.g., OECD, Royal Commission on the Environment]

4 Center for Nanotechnology and Society (CNS-ASU) Arizona State University University of Wisconsin-Madison Georgia Tech North Carolina State University Rutgers University University of Colorado, Boulder MISSION Research the societal implications of nanotechnologies Train a community of scholars with new insight into the societal dimensions of *NSE Engage the public, policy makers, business, & *NSE researchers in dialogues about NSE s goals and implications Partner with *NSE laboratories to introduce greater reflexiveness in the R&D process SPONSORSHIP: NSF Georgia Tech group: Q. Who is doing what kinds of *NSE research? Q. How is *NSE innovation occurring? Q. Actors & drivers? Technological, economic, and regional impacts? *NSE = Nanoscale Science and Engineering)

5 Center for Nanotechnology in Society Research Program Assessment Georgia Tech RTTA-1 group Core Resources: o Refined two-stage two-stage bibliometric search method o Development of global Science, Technology & Innovation ( ST&I ) databases Complementary data (e.g. small nano-firm start-up data; MNE nano patent families) Text mining tools for ST&I analyses Visualizations: research network mapping; science overlay mapping; geo-mapping Field research and case studies Focus: Real Time Technology Assessment Anticipate innovation pathways and potential applications Contribute to impact assessment

6 The GT Nano Datasets ~encompassing, Boolean search operationalization 1991 through ~2008 Research publication abstracts Science Citation Index ~572,000 records EI Compendex ~557,000 records INSPEC ~477,000 records Also, PatStat nano search ~60,000+ patent abstract records Imported into text mining software (VantagePoint) for various analyses

7 Nano Publication Trends: Compendex [Blue Diamonds], INSPEC [red squares] Science Citation Index [green triangles] (* records for 2008 adjusted)]

8 USA Japan China Germany Nanotechnology publications, leading countries, annual, US CN Trends in Nano Discovery: Publications JA DE Nano Share of Science (SCI) * est. Nanotechnology Publications, * Based on all author affiliations. *estimated. References: Youtie, J., Shapira, P., Porter, A., National Nanotechnology Publications and Citations, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2008; S. Carley, Nanotechnology Research Publication Databases, Updated to 2008, RTTA-1 Profile, 2008.

9 Locating Nano among the Disciplines via Science Overlay Mapping Using Web of Science (Science Citation Index) Subject Categories ( SCs -- for journal categorization) Location reflects degree of association among SCs based on citation patterns Use factor analysis to group SCs into megadisciplines the labels in the maps Such science maps depend on the data and approach used, but are surprisingly robust Two versions 175 SC Science Citation Index map (used here) 221 SC map including SCI + Social Science Citation Index [Nano in the social sciences ~limited, but interesting!]

10 Agri Sci Geosciences Infectious Diseases Ecol Sci Env Sci & Tech Clinical Med Chemistry Biomed Sci. Health Sci Cognitive Sci Mtls Sci Engr Sci Computer Sci Physics 175 Subject Categories Science Base Map: See References

11 Agri Sci Geosciences Infectious Diseases Ecol Sci Env Sci & Tech Clinical Med Chemistry Biomed Sci. Health Sci Cognitive Sci Mtls Sci Engr Sci Computer Sci Nano 2008 Science Overlay Map: See References Physics

12 Locating China s Nanoparticles in Biosensors Research over the Base Map of Science

13 Agri Sci Geosciences Infectious Diseases Ecol Sci Env Sci & Tech Clinical Med Chemistry Biomed Sci. Health Sci Cognitive Sci Mtls Sci Engr Sci Computer Sci Physics Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Subject Category 3863 articles, partial 2008 showing Top 40 Cited SCs Overlay over base 175 SC Science Map

14 Research Network Analyses: Nano-enhanced Solar Cells -- Indian Institutes Collaborators

15 Why measure interdisciplinarity? Belief that most scientific breakthroughs occur at the interstices among established fields Belief that societal problems that warrant high priority do not fit within disciplines National priority NIH Roadmap, NSF programs, National Academies Keck Futures Initiative Learn how best to facilitate interdisciplinarity Training Research organization and funding Research practices and processes

16 Why concern with nano interdisciplinarity? Too easy assumption that nano is strongly interdisciplinary research ( IDR ) Hype to gain funding? If IDR, in what ways? If IDR is the keystone to major scientific advance, how to facilitate cross-field nano research knowledge transfer? Track the extent of interdisciplinarity Change over time? Over research areas? Affected by particular research programs?

17 Interdisciplinary Research Measures Integration: how diverse is the knowledge reflected by a paper s references? National Academies Keck Futures Initiative s chosen measure Congruent with Andy Stirling s conceptualization of Diversity as composed of 3 factors: variety, balance & disparity Rafols dual perspectives 1) Diversity using science overlay maps [top-down] 2) Coherence based on bibliographic coupling [bottom-up -- degree to which entities draw upon the same research knowledge]

18 Average Integration Scores for Samples of Nano Articles Integration Year

19 Leading Macro-Disciplines of Nano Publications & Citations, 2008 [SCI] Macro-Disciplines % of Publications % that Cite Materials Sciences Chemistry Physics Biomedical Sciences 9 64 Engineering Sciences 8 40 Clinical Medicine 3 18 Computer Science 3 19 Agricultural Sciences 3 18 Environmental Science & Technology 2 14 Industrial Engineering/Management Sciences (including Mathematics) 1 32

20 Percentage of Articles in each Macro-Discipline (rows) Citing at least one source in a given Macro-Discipline (columns) # Pubs Macro- Disciplines: Publications \ Cited Mtls Sci Chemistry Physics Biomed Sci Engr Sci Clinical Med Computer Sci Agri Sci Env Sci & Tech Ind Engr/Mgt Sci (including Math) Mtls Sci Chemistry Physics Biomed Sci Engr Sci Clinical Med Computer Sci Agri Sci Env Sci & Tech Ind Engr/Mgt Sci (including 158 Math)

21 Trends in Nano Discovery: Changing nano shares Top Subject Categories % of nano publications for year % Change Materials Science, % 1 Multidisciplinary Physics, Applied % 2 Chemistry, Physical % 3 Physics, Condensed Matter % 4 Nanoscience & Nanotechnology n/a n/a n/a n/a Chemistry, Multidisciplinary % 6 Polymer Science % Rank Source: Analysis by the Program in Research and Innovation Systems Analysis, Center for Nanotechnology and Society (CNS-ASU) at Georgia Tech. Bibliometric definition as in Porter et al SCI nanoscience/nanotechnology publications, 508,000, (part-year).

22 Probing Interdisciplinarity Further Top Down (previous) Bottom Up (next)

23 Case Studies in Molecular Motors 5 Japanese research projects [Ismael Rafols] -- interviews Techniques & concepts from a variety of disciplines in all projects However some projects continue an established research tradition (involving multiple disciplines); other projects integrate previously unrelated research streams Let s focus on select research papers from these projects -- bibliometrics Top-down science overlay maps to get at diversity

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25 2 Nano Molecular Motors Papers showing the Subject Category concentrations of their References References Diversity is notable and very similar Rafols and Meyer, 2009: See references

26 Bibliographic Coupling: Shared References by the Paper s References Noji reflects 2 distinct research streams (joined by a single review paper) Funatsu ~more singular Ylidiz even more so an already established research community Rafols and Meyer, 2009: See references

27 Diversity Within Research Streams Black nodes indicate papers published in a given Subject Category. Note the considerable diversity within coupled (i.e., coherent) research sets. Rafols and Meyer, 2009: See references

28 Summing Up How broadly does nano engage multiple disciplines (research areas)? Very much But the core is Materials Science To what extent does nano research integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines (research areas)? Wide outreach Areas do draw on research in other areas nano is not just an amalgam of ~disciplinary research endeavors But citation is heaviest of nearby research areas

29 Looking Ahead We can characterize bodies of nano research [e.g., particular topics or the work of a research center] Analyze research knowledge transfer patterns [e.g., Detect seed areas] Help identify development pathways toward sensitive applications Looking for counsel on: Nanobiosensors and nano-enhanced solar cells innovation pathways If you want to explore Help formulate a nano topical search Tell us what you want to see: science overlay maps; Integration &/or other statistics; research network maps For research profiling/locating; proposal enrichment; or? Your thoughts?

30 Science Mapping & Measuring Interdisciplinarity References Leydesdorff, L. and Rafols, I. (2009). A Global Map of Science Based on the ISI Subject Categories. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(2), The diversity & coherence concepts + results: Rafols, I. and Meyer, M. (2009). Diversity and Network Coherence as indicators of interdisciplinarity: case studies in bionanoscience, Scientometrics 81(2). DOI /s y. < Porter, A.L., and Rafols, I. (forthcoming). Is science becoming more interdisciplinary? Measuring and mapping six research fields over time, Scientometrics.

31 Nano-oriented References Porter, A.L., Youtie, J., Shapira, P., and Schoeneck, D.J., Refining Search Terms for Nanotechnology, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Vol. 10 (5), , Youtie, J., Shapira, P., and Porter, A.L., Nanotechnology Publications and Citations by Leading Countries and Blocs, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Vol. 10, no. 6, p , Porter, A.L., and Youtie, J., How Interdisciplinary is Nanotechnology?, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Vol. 11, No. 5, ; Subramanian, V., Houtie, J., Porter, A.L., and Shapira, P., Is there a shift to active nanostructures?, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, to appear. Porter, A.L., and Youtie, J. Where Does Nanotechnology Belong in the Map of Science?, Nature-Nano, to appear.