"So I’m here today to set this goal: We will devote more than 3 percent of our GDP to research and development. We will not just meet, but we will exceed the level achieved at the height of the space race" -Obama at National Academy of Sciences<p>"And today, I’m also announcing that for the first time, we are funding an initiative - recommended by this organization- called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, or ARPA-E."<p>"This is based, not surprisingly, on DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which was created during the Eisenhower administration in response to Sputnik. It has been charged throughout its history with conducting high-risk, high-reward research. And the precursor to the Internet, known as ARPANET, stealth technology, the Global Positioning System all owe a debt to the work of DARPA."