U.S. federal investments in basic research transformed life and commerce in the 20th century....The United States can anticipate comparable world-changing innovations in the 21st century if we adapt our education and research funding strategies to capitalize on new opportunities emerging at the convergence of the life sciences with the physical sciences and engineering.

However, Hockfield notes, fostering this wave of innovation will require changes -- such as an increasingly interdisciplinary approach to funding research and to educating science and engineering students.