Meeting US Defense Science and Engineering Workforce Needs: A Progress Report

Recent years have seen growing recognition of the deep reliance of the US national security innovation base on foreign national advanced degree holders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This recognition has led to a number of executive and legislative branch efforts aimed at attracting and securing highly skilled foreign-born STEM advanced degree holders to the US, as a potential path forward for meeting the science and engineering workforce needs of the US defense sector, and its associated innovation base. This paper describes the policy context for this shift, and highlights ongoing needs for improved data and research that we see as critical for informing evidence-based policy debates in the coming years.