Evaluating the science-technology interaction in nanotechnology: A simulation-based study

Nanotechnology as an emerging, science-driven and rapidly evolving field with the multidisciplinary nature is an example of cases where science and technology are proximate and their interaction is essential. The scientific and technological networks can be formed separately in a social context and the linkages from the scientific to the technological network can be established through authors-inventors who act as gatekeepers and bridge the knowledge between the two communities. This work concerns individual researchers who are doing both, patenting and publishing, in the field of nanotechnology in Quebec Canada. An agent-based model was developed using real data regarding both nano-related articles and their authors, and nano-related patents and their inventors were collected from SCOPUS and USPTO databases respectively. While the repetitiveness in collaborative relationships has shown an enhancement in author-inventors performance, it negatively affects the knowledge flow efficiency. Author-inventors are fundamentals for increasing the network productivity and assure its interconnectivity.