Critical and emerging technologies in Materials, Manufacturing, and Industrial Engineering: A study for priority setting

Abstract

Technologies that were assumed to be critical or emerging in Materials, Manufacturing, and Industrial Engineering were combined from different sources. These were compared to recent data and trends based on publications as well as patents in these fields. Some of these technologies were found to be non-critical or non-emergent. Top-ten lists of critical and emerging technologies were derived using simple statistical tools and easily accessible databases. The present methodology is proposed as an effective procedure for priority setting in science and technology policy making.