Technology in the coming century

OVERVIEW: In the 50 years since the transistor's invention, industrial rese arch has acquired an amazingly versatile set of information tools. Today, t hey offer us help with endeavors that range from catalogs of biological mol ecules to the unclogging of streets and highways. Looking to the future, we can expect further progress, as information appliances of all kinds grow i n power and link their users to a rich variety of networks and services. To day's R&D processes have served established industries well in the past. As more and more power moves to the desk-top, continued success will depend u pon inventing new tools to carry out the creative disruption that is so int egral to the R&D leader's job.