Information Technology and Innovation Institute -“This study provides a detailed portrait of individuals who are driving technological innovation in the United States—including their gender, ethnicity, countries of origin, education, and age—as well as the settings and circumstances in which they are creating their innovations, such as the institution (or institutions) behind the advances, the commercial status of the innovations, and their funding sources. To gather this information, ITIF surveyed more than 900 people who have made meaningful, marketable contributions to technology-intensive industries as award-winning innovators and international patent applicants. The study finds that immigrants comprise a large and vital component of U.S. innovation, with 35.5 percent of U.S. innovators born outside the United States. Women represent just 12 percent of U.S. innovators, and U.S.-born minorities (including Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and other ethnicities) represent just 8 percent of U.S.-born innovators. Contrary to popular conceptions about precocious college dropouts with big ideas, U.S. innovators actually tend to be experienced and highly educated—and most hold advanced degrees in the fields of science and technology.”