Since World War II, science-based or "high tech" industry has become the motor of advanced economies. Efforts to enhance national competitiveness and regional development by encouraging cooperation between research enterprises and industry has taken several forms, but one of the most dramatic has been the science/technology-industry interactive regional complex or "growth-center." This phenomenon has been in evidence world- wide. In the United States, "Route 128 near Boston and "Silicon Valley" in Santa Clara County, California, have been the largest and most successful examples. These research regions or "science cities" have received relatively little attention from historians of science and technology. With this initial grant, Drs. Kargon and Leslie, who are respectively historians of science and technology, and Dr. Schoenberger, a geographer, will collaborate in an effort to organize an interdisciplinary study of the roots, nature and dynamics of science-technology research and industry complexes. Starting with Silicon Valley and Route 128 as prototypes, they intend to examine three case studies. This grant will allow them to identify these three study sites, locate the most significant institutional actors within each site, and assess the key archival and published sources.
