Teens rank water third, adults rank it fourth in presidential focus survey

CAMBRIDGE, MA, Oct. 1, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) An election-year supplement to the annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index study, which gauges Americans' attitudes toward invention, found:
-- One-third of American adults and teens vote anti-terrorist research as most in need of the next president's support.
-- One-third of adults and 20% of teens believe inventing alternative energy sources should also be a high priority.
-- Nearly half of adults and teens believe medical inventions will most significantly impact their lives over the next 25 years, while more than 20% said energy and environment inventions would affect their lives.

Q: On which area of research would you most like whoever is voted president to focus his support in the next four years?

................................................Adults.......Teens (12-17)
Anti-terrorist technology..........33%.........34%
Alternative energy sources......32.5%.......23%
Stem cells................................12%.........4%
Water purification....................11%.........20%
Space exploration....................2.5%.........15%
Don't know / refused...............8%............5%

Q: Which one of the following types of inventions will most affect
Americans' lives over the next 25 years?

................................................Adults......Teens (12-17)
Medical....................................54%.........48%
Energy and environment.........23%.........22%
Transportation.........................9%.........18%
Communications.......................9%.........8%
Time-saving or..........................3%.........3%
convenience products
Don't know / refused................2%.........1%

"Technology is an important tool that can potentially make us safer from terror," Merton Flemings, Lemelson-MIT Program director, said. "We're not surprised, in post-9/11 America, that nearly a third of teens and adults feel research into this area should be a high priority for the next president. Adults and teens also clearly understand that our longer term security depends on developing sustainable ways to produce energy and to ensure adequate clean water for all."

About the Lemelson-MIT Program
The Lemelson-MIT Program provides the resources and inspiration to make invention and innovation more accessible to today's youth. It accomplishes this mission through outreach activities and annual awards, including the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the largest single award in the United States for invention.

Jerome H. Lemelson, one of the world's most prolific inventors, and his wife, Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation, a private philanthropy committed to honoring the contributions of inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs and to inspiring ingenuity in others. More information is online at http://web.mit.edu/invent.

Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch conducted the 2004-2005 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index survey from September 15-19, 2004. A nationally representative sample of 503 teens (ages 12 to 17) and 1,003 adults was used. The margin of error was +/- 4.4%.

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