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In this paper, we apply an original scientometric analyses to a corpus comprising synthetic biology (SynBio) publications in Thomson Reuters Web of Science to characterize the emergence of this new scientific field. Three results were drawn from this empirical investigation. First, despite the exponential growth of publications, the study of population level statistics (newcomers proportion, collaboration network structure) shows that SynBio has entered a stabilization process since 2010. Second, the mapping of textual and citational networks shows that SynBio is characterized by high heterogeneity and four different approaches: the central approach, where biobrick engineering is the most widespread; genome engineering; protocell creation; and metabolic engineering. We suggest that synthetic biology acts as an umbrella term allowing for the mobilization of resources, and also serves to relate scientific content and promises of applications. Third, we observed a strong intertwinement between epistemic and socio-economic dynamics. Measuring scientific production and impact and using structural analysis data, we identified a core set of mostly American scientists. Biographical analysis shows that these central and influential scientists act as “boundary spanners,” meaning that their importance to the field lies not only in their academic contributions, but also in their capacity to interact with other social spaces that are outside the academic sphere.

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There is a paucity of papers dealing with the system characteristics of laboratories or, to put it another way, the institutional character of research organizations. Neither R&D economics nor the sociology of science, as traditionally conceived, has made much headway in providing insight into sets of R&D laboratories and their evolution. Drawing upon an empirical study in the plant breeding and biochemical industry, this paper presents a typology of public research laboratories which is based on three dimensions : scientific production and visibility, type of funding (public or private) and homogeneity of research themes. Three types of public laboratory. emerge: the first, called "research centres for the profession", is composed essentially of laboratories with close ties with SMEs and industry associations. The second, called "designers of generic tools and methods", is oriented towards basic research and themes of general interest to the industry as a whole. The third type, called "basic and specialised laboratories", strives to develop its scientific visibility. Contracts between this type of laboratory and industry are mainly bilateral and demonstrate the complementarity between public and private research. Each type of laboratory develops specific types of relationship with private partners. The authors have identified three logics underlying these relationships: proximity, market and club. The main objective of contracts based on a proximity logic is to test an hypothesis, while the knowledge produced is mostly tacit and specific. By contrast, knowledge is entirely coded and specific in the market logic, where the aim of the contract is to implement expertise in order to relieve a scientific bottleneck. In a club logic, the aim of contracts is to produce * We would like to thank the National Institute for Agronomic Research which gave financial support and access to information. Many thanks to our colleagues of SERD whose contribution was critical. We thank Thierry Gonard [ESC Nantes] and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments. Of course, all mistakes remain ours. The first version of this paper was presented at EUNETIC conference, Strasbourg, 1994. 2 a technical referent. In each kind of contract, the learning trajectories, modes of coordination, role of trust and degree to which contracts are complete or not, are different. October 1995 PROFILE OF PUBLIC LABORATORIES, INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATION OF R & D : THE DYNAMICS OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN A LARGE RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONBased on a detailed analysis of public research laboratories' relations with industry, this contribution challenges certain stereotypes on which the economics of technological change is founded. It also highlights the various learning trajectories of public laboratories.Generally speaking, stereotypes are highly resistant, especially when they are part of a secular scientific tradition. This very broad assertion is particularly relevant to the economic analysis of research laboratories. Relying o...

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