This report provides basic information on patterns and trends of research and development (R&D) performance in the United States itself and in relation to other countries, as well as data on public attitudes toward science and technology. Major areas addressed in the report's eight chapters include (1) the international science and technology system; (2) support for U.S. R&D; (3) science and engineering personnel; (4) industrial science and technology (examining scientists and engineers in industry, expenditures for R&D in U.S. industry, patented inventions, and university-industry cooperation in science and technology; (5) academic science and engineering (student enrollment and support, faculty roles, academic R&D, the supporting infrasructure, and other areas); (6) precollege science and mathematics education (considering student achievement, scholastic aptitude, top test scores, undergraduate student quality, courses and enrollment, international comparisons, and teachers of science and mathematics); (7) public attitudes toward science and technology; and (8) advances in science and engineering. This last chapter explores the role of sophisticated instrumentation in advancing scientific knowledge. It contains five case studies dealing with lasers, spectroscopy, superconductivity, monoclonal antibodies, and advanced scientific computing. (Detailed statistical tables are included in an appendix.) (JN)