Concern has grown that the United States is losing its competitive edge in science and technology (S&T). The factors driving this concern include globalization, the rise of science centers in developing countries such as China and India, the increasing number of foreign-born Ph.D. students in the United States, and claims of a shortage of S&T workers in the United States. A loss of prowess in S&T could hurt U.S. economic competitiveness, standard of living, and national security. The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness asked the RAND Corporation to convene a meeting in November 2006 to discuss these issues. This volume contains the short papers presented at the meeting and discussed by the analysts, policymakers, military officers, professors, and business leaders who attended. The papers cover a broad range of topics, including science policy, the quantitative assessment of S&T capability, globalization, the rise of Asia (in particular, China and India), innovation, trade, technology diffusion, the increase in foreign-born Ph.D. recipients working in the United States, new directions in the management and compensation of federal S&T workers, and national security and the defense industry. Taken as a set, the papers provide at least a partial survey of the facts, challenges, and questions posed by the possible erosion of U.S. S&T capabilities. The papers comprising this volume are: (1) Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future--Executive Summary (The National Academies); (2) The Global Diffusion of S&T and the Rise of China (Adam Segal); (3) Scientific Wealth and the Scientific Investments of Nations (Jonathan Adams); (4) The World Is What? (David Warsh); (5) National Security in a Knowledge-Based Global Economy (Jonathan Eaton and Samuel Kortum); (6) Recent Trends in U.S. Science and Engineering: Prospects, Challenges, and Implications (James D. Adams); (7) Globalization of the Scientific/Engineering Workforce and National Security (Richard B. Freeman); (8) The Gathering Storm and Its Implications for National Security (Michael S. Teitelbaum); (9) Comments on the "Gathering Storm" and Its Implications for National Security (Paula E. Stephan); (10) Comments at a Meeting on the "Gathering Storm" and Its Implications for National Security (Thomas L. Magnanti); (11) Some Thoughts on the "Gathering Storm," National Security, and the Global Market for Scientific Talent (Paul Oyer); (12) Summative Evaluation of Personnel Management and Compensation Initiatives (Brigitte W. Schay); and (13) The Economic Complexities of Incentive Reforms and Engineers in the Federal Government (Beth J. Asch). Appended is the conference agenda, a list of attendees, and biographical information. (Each paper contains references, tables, and figures.) [This research was sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and conducted within the Forces and Resources Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute.]