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(Ed.)
Studies have shown that in the U.S., Black, Hispanic, and women entrepreneurs are given a tiny fraction of venture capital funding, which is
vastly disproportionate to their representation in the population. This investment discrepancy is not only socially unjust, but it also deprives the U.S.
of the advantages in innovation and global competitiveness that could stem from increasing the participation of these groups in innovative sectors.
This is particularly true within transdisciplinary startups, including those focused on smart energy, biomedical, and nanomedical technologies, all of
which require cross-disciplinary experts. Every new enterprise in these fields experiences challenges in finding adequate support. These challenges
exist at a time in the 21st century when U.S. innovation is facing unprecedented pressures in competition for primacy. In 1960, U.S. R&D expenditure
for defense and private industries was approximately 69 percent of global spending on R&D [1]; whereas in 2016, the U.S. share of global R&D
expenditure had decreased to just 28 percent [2], due to China’s substantial advances in R&D. If this trend continues, both China’s GDP and R&D
expenditure measured by GDP will outperform those of the U.S. by 2030 [3].
To ensure that the U.S. remains a world leader in R&D, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the Innovative Postdoctoral
Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship (I-PERF) program. I-PERF facilitates the professional development of Black, Hispanic and female research
fellows, who are typically underrepresented within STEM fields, by offering them invaluable experience within research and technology companies.
The program’s goal is to enhance diversity in the startup and entrepreneurial landscapes, improve opportunities for researchers from underserved
groups, and increase the number of highly competent entrepreneurs within the U.S. STEM community. The startup companies involved in the
program, which are also supported by the NSF, comprise a variety of new, mixed STEM fields that were unknown just a few decades ago.
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