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“We’re helping entrepreneurs and technology centers across the country, historically black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, ethnic colleges,” President Joe Biden said in remarks about the new CHIPS and Science Act. We explore our key competitive advantages: our diverse and skilled workforce in urban, rural and suburban areas.
The president’s remarks highlighted a critical but underreported focus of the law — expanding opportunities for Americans who have historically been excluded from science and technology industries. These developments could be revolutionary for many American inventors.
The CHIPS and SCIENCE Act directly address barriers to education and skills advancements that have historically been excluded from science and technology. It goes beyond the “plumbing problem” by addressing systemic barriers to underrepresented founders, such as access to capital, caregiver responsibilities, harassment and discrimination. While these aspects have not received as much attention as the law’s historic investment in domestic chip manufacturing, the “science” half of the new law will result in significant social and economic growth.
According to Dr. Artunduaga turned doctor-scientist into inventor-entrepreneur. After her grandfather passed away from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Artunduga gave up clinical practice to prevent a similar death. She participated in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corporation (I-Corp) and received grant funding to advance the use of voice before life-threatening emergencies. While COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States, Artunduga’s innovation has the potential to change the lives of millions.
The new law also helps creators like Kathryn Jean. A university design challenge to fight Ebola and a visit to West Africa to meet front-line health care workers led Jin and two colleagues to create the Highlight, which is temporarily painted with white cleaning ink, so users can ensure they properly treat the contaminated surface. Jin and co-founders Jason Kang and Kevin Tiang started Kinos to empower people to disinfect surfaces with confidence and give the public peace of mind through visible disinfection.
CHIPS & SCIENCE is an investment in the ingenuity of inventors like Dr. Artunduga and Gene. The Act is the most comprehensive effort in history to create opportunities for women, people of color and other underrepresented groups in science and technology. Incorporating equity and opportunity provisions — such as research funding and expanding access to STEM education and ensuring that people of color and other underrepresented groups have information about these opportunities — represents an important shift in thinking. He believes that America can maintain its leadership position in global technology only if we fully utilize American talent and ingenuity.
The CHIPS and SCIENCE Act represents a sea change in American innovation policy, and strong implementation of this legislation will help ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to fully participate in the innovation ecosystem. Another important effort is the Council on Inclusive Innovation, a body chaired by Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo to develop a national strategy to expand participation in innovation. In addition, Congress and the administration should expand data collection and sharing to increase data on the diversity of our creators. Before the end of the year, Congress must pass and the president must sign the IDEA law, which would require the US Patent and Trademark Office to voluntarily collect demographic data on inventors and make that data available for research.
In essence, the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act will help America compete and win globally. Policymakers recognize that prioritizing equity is key to building the future.
Funding and fully implementing the CHIPS and SCIENCE Act’s Fairness and Opportunity provisions, as well as advancing other policies to expand participation in American innovation, will empower America’s next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs and allow our nation to remain a global technology superpower. .
Holly Fechner is the executive director of Invent Together, a coalition of universities, nonprofits, companies, individuals and other stakeholders to address diversity gaps in innovation and patenting. 
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