Abstract :
Economic conversion means the shifting of resources from military to peacetime civilian uses. With the end of the cold war, a greater awareness of domestic needs, and the renewed debate over technology policy, conversion has become a very important topic, both in public policy and in business strategy. The electronics industry, and therefore the CAD industry, has depended on heavy government defense spending not only because of the large market it creates, but also as one of the principal sources of research funding. Since 1990 defense spending has been shrinking, and even deeper cuts are inevitable. For some this seems like a disaster, but it is also an opportunity to rethink and refashion the industry, orienting more toward meeting domestic needs in areas such as transportation, the environment, health care, education, and more efficient and higher quality manufacturing. The industry has a chance to play a vital, indeed essential, role in the post-cold-war economy and to give much needed service to the country. There are a number of important questions connected with economic conversion: - Can we reformulate our research agenda to address these problems, and if so, how? - What areas should we focus on? - What new ideas are worth pursuing? - How much retraining and rethinking will be needed, and how can it be done? - How will the institutions involved, including companies, universities and government labs, have to restructure themselves to meet the challenge? - What should the role of government be? This panel will examine these and related questions. It will begin with a talk of about fifteen minutes on conversion, and continue with statements from several panelists representing universities, industry and government.
