"A ll agree that science and technology have been central to America's rise to global prominence. Religious and cul- tural expansion, markets and military control, foreign allies, and scientific ex- ploits—all inspired the European and American empires built across the Atlantic Ocean since the Age of Discovery. But what sets the ascent of the United States to world power apart from earlier civilizations are its technological advances. The description of biological and physical properties in natural phenomena and materials and the mechanical application of this knowledge were integral to the earliest stages of the North American colonies. This scientific knowledge led to exceptionally productive innovations in agriculture, manufacturing, and energy resources. As the United States passed through the nineteenth century, both its economy and government became even more wedded to nurturing large-scale technologies. Eventually, technologies in its military and industrial sectors em- powered the United States to expand across the continent and beyond its Atlan- tic and Pacific coasts. Vital to the triumph of the capitalist economy in the United States, today technology and science hold the highest place in America's col- lective social values."