Seminars 2008 — Abstracts

Wednesday, July 23

Speaker: Bruce Weinberg, Ohio State

Title: Scientific Leadership

Abstract: The 20th century saw dramatic shifts in international scientific leadership. At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe as a whole and Germany in particular dominated science. Today, the United States does. Traditionally, the shift of scientific leadership from Europe and Germany to the United States has been linked to (1) the Nazis' driving out star scientists; (2) the United States sending young researchers to Europe to study with European masters; and (3) investments in science in the United States. Using rich datasets on Nobel laureates in Chemistry, Medicine, and Physics, and highly cited publications, we show that investments in science and a competitive market for science in the United States were likely the most important factors, with the Nazis playing a relatively modest role. Our estimates suggest that scientific leadership is more fluid than generally believed.