Jake Cohen

December 7, 2012
Writing 2
Timothy Gilmore
To Trust in Basic Research
Within the last to !eca!es, "merica has irre#utably maintaine! its re$utation as the
ma%or contributor o# ne technology to the global market$lace& 'ilicon (alley $um$s out ne
(ersions o# their har!are an! so#tare #or $ublic, $ri(ate, an! business use on a !aily basis&
)ilitary technology in "merica continues to beil!er an! trum$ that o# other countries year a#ter
year& *t is also no secret that technologically !ri(en en!ea(ors ha(e recei(e! loa!s o# a$$raisal
#rom the recent a!ministrations in Washington& *n a 2011 issue o# Time )aga+ine, a ,no
#amous- $icture shos .resi!ent Barack /bama hosting the 0Tech Giants1 o# 'ilicon 2alley at
the White 3ouse& The .resi!ent as sitting right beteen the late C4/ o# "$$le, 'te(e Jobs, an!
the current C4/ o# 5acebook, )ark 6uckerberg&
The tech in!ustry un!oubte!ly has $laye! an! continues to $lay an integral role in
"merica7s booming economy an! $osition as a orl! lea!er& With the technology an! !ot8com
boom, hoe(er, e ha(e lost sight o# one o# the most #un!amental $ieces to technological
!e(elo$ment9 basic research& Though technological an! ,to an e:tent- scienti#ic research in
"merica continues to recei(e a substantial amount o# #e!eral #un!ing, it has become a$$arent
that the society an! recent a!ministrations ha(e #orgotten the im$ortance o# basic research, an!
its s$ane! bene#its&
Be#ore e:$loring hy basic research in "merica has !in!le!, an! the negati(e
conse;uences that ill take $lace as a result o# this #act, the !istinction must be ma!e beteen
the terms basic an! a$$lie! research& <arence Berkeley <abs, one o# the renone! national
laboratories on the =C Berkeley cam$us, has state! that, 0Basic ,aka fundamental or pure -
research is !ri(en by a scientist>s curiosity or interest in a scienti#ic ;uestion& The main
moti(ation is to expand man's knowledge , not to create or in(ent something& There is no
ob(ious commercial (alue to the !isco(eries that result #rom basic research1 ,<arence Berkeley
<abs-& 5or a scientist, there is usually no lucrati(e incenti(e #or their basic research, but rather
out o# genuine curiosity #or ansering #un!amental ;uestions, such as the makeu$ o# our
uni(erse& "$$lie! research, on the other han!, 0*s !esigne! to sol(e practical problems o#
the mo!ern orl!, rather than to a;c;uire knole!ge #or knole!ge>s sake& /ne might say that
the goal o# the a$$lie! scientist is to improve the human condition. Both basic an!
a$$lie! research are (ital com$onents to one another, an! ithout hich the other coul! not
e(ol(e& "s Dr& George 'moot o# <arence Berkeley <abs state!9 0.eo$le cannot #oresee the
#uture ell enough to $re!ict hat7s going to !e(elo$ #rom basic research& *# e only !i!
a$$lie! research, e oul! still be making better s$ears&1
Both basic an! a$$lie! research ha(e recei(e! their am$le su$$ort #or lion7s share o# our
nation7s e:istence& Recently, hoe(er, there has been great e(i!ence that the backing o# basic
research in the =nite! 'ates has !in!le!& /(er the last hal#8century, #or instance, the ='
5e!eral Research 5un!ing has altere! its #un!ing allocations, so that, since the 1?@07s, the
#un!ing o# basic research has #allen #rom tice that o# in!ustrial ,a$$lie!- research to roughly
e;ual& /n an i!entical le(el, the Research an! De(elo$ment #un!ing by the =' go(ernment has
also ma!e it so that basic research, hich once recei(e! almost tice that o# in!ustrial research,
no recei(es less than hal# o# in!ustry #un!ing le(els& ,3ather, .</' /A4-&
Though the =nite! 'tates is still a orl! lea!er in science an! engineering, the
re$ercussions o# the state! !in!ling su$$ort has become e(i!ent& The share o# $a$ers that ='
scientists $ublish in ma%or %ournals, #or instance, is #alling& )ore s$eci#ically, "merican scientists
$ublishe! thirty one $ercent o# all scienti#ic $a$ers in 2001, !on #rom thirty eight $ercent in
1?BB& 5urthermore, 0The share o# $a$ers in the Chemical "bstract 'er(ice !ro$$e! $reci$itously,
#rom 7C $ercent in 1?B0 to D0 $ercent in 200C1 ,Washington Times-&
*t is reasonable to belie(e that "merica has altere! its $riorities #rom basic research to
a$$lie! research as a result o# the !oc8com an! com$uter boom o# the tenty8#irst century& This
has !istracte! us into thinking that technology an! com$uter shoul! be our $riority, because they
ill lea! us to ne !isco(eries& This claim an! hy$othesis are true, but only to an e:tent&
Technology, an! a$$lie! research #or that matter, are only $art o# the e;uation o# mo(ing #orar!
in !isco(ery an! !e(elo$ment& " $er#ect analogy as ritten by Burton Richter, a stu!ent at the
'tan#or! <inear "ccelerator Center9
0To borro a meta$hor #rom my col8 leagues in biology, there is a kin! o# !ouble heli: in
the interaction o# science an! technology like the !ouble heli: o# DA"& /ne stran! o#
the heli: is scienceE the other stran! is technology& The to are ine:tricably linke!
an! nei8 ther can a!(ance in the long run ithout a!(ances in the other& .olicymakers in
go(ernment ho think that #ocusing on short8term a$$lie! ork can increase economic
com$etiti(eness, ignore at their ,an! our- $eril the im$lications o# the science an!
technology !ouble heli: #or long8term !e(elo$ment& 5un!amental sci8 ence is
necessary to a!(ance along this !ouble heli: to !e(elo$ ne ca$abilities that bene#it
mankin!1 ,Richter, DB-&
"s state! earlier by George 'moot, a$$lie! research relies %ust as, i# not more, hea(ily on
basic research than the alternati(e& This is !i##icult #or many to gras$, es$ecially, an!
un!erstan!ably, in mo!ern times& 'ociety ten!s to look at the likes o# 'te(e Jobs an! )ark
6uckerberg an! ask, 0What more !o e nee!F Don7t they $ro(i!e us ith the a!(ancements o#
the tenty #irst centuryF1 .eo$le are more incline! to belie(e that the tech giants !o more #or
society than the research that takes $lace in the labs& What society, an! our recent
a!ministrations, ha(e #orgotten an! !o not recogni+e, is that basic research s$ans the
technological !e(elo$ments that e see aroun! us an! take #or grante! on a !aily basis&
There are countless e:am$les o# this theorem ,basic research s$ans a$$lie! research an!
technological !e(elo$ment-, but here are a #e key !emonstrations o# here it is ob(ious& 5iber
o$tics, #or instance, is the result o# the basic research that took $lace hal# a century ago, as ell
as basic research that has taken $lace in the last !eca!e& The 0basic #un!amental1 research
un!er$innings o# this technology is the ;uantum mechanics, !e(elo$e! in the 1?207s through the
1?D07s, $articularly the ork o# 4instein on stimulate! emission an! absor$tion& The
0#un!amental a$$lie!1 ork as the !e(elo$ment o# the laser& Theory shoe! that the laser as
not im$ossible, but it as not ob(ious that the re;uire! con!itions coul! be achie(e!& The 0basic
strategic1 research as a (ast amount o# ork on the interaction o# light ith materials& /$tical
#iber communication comes #rom combining a!(ance! soli!8state lasers ith a!(ance!
materials&
This theorem that basic research, hen gi(en time, lea!s to technological !e(elo$ment
can be a$$lie! to essentially all o# to!ay7s technologies9 0 The transistor ,1?G07s- comes #rom the
#un!amental basic ork in con!ense! matter ,1?207s an! 1?C07s-& )agnetic resonance imaging
,1?B07s- comes #rom the ork on nuclear magnetic mo(ements o# Rabi ,1?CB-& "ll e:am$les
share certain characteristics& "t their root lies #un!amental science that lea!s to some ne
un!erstan!ing, an! hich in turn lea!s to more basic research that is strategic in nature an!Hor
#un!amental a$$lie! research that !e(elo$s a ne enabling technology&
'o are e ha(ing such issuesF Why has "merican su$$ort #or basic research !in!le! in
the last !eca!e i# it is so e(i!ent that basic research lea!s to technological !e(elo$ment an!
!isco(eryF The anser, like all else these !ays, lies in economics& The com$etiti(e $ressures
an! economic har!shi$s ha(e #orce! the go(ernment to shi#t their RID e##orts toar! ork ith
a shorter time hori+on than be#ore& There is relati(ely little ork in in!ustrial RID no here
the time hori+on to a$$lication is longer than #i(e to se(en years& This is the case e(en at Bell
<abs an! *B)& Go(ernment su$$ort #or long8term RID is no more im$ortant than e(er&
,Richter, G0-& =n#ortunately, in!ustrial contributions to long8term research $ro%ects are
!ecreasing, an! the go(ernment has not mirrore! this by increasing their #un!ing #or sai!
$ro%ects& This is #ully consistent ith the notion that the go(ernment shoul! su$$ort hat
in!ustry cannot in the areas o# im$ortance to the nation&
'u$$ort #or basic research is an in(estment, an! one that has $ro(e! su##icient return time
an! time again& Just like any in(estment, hoe(er, there ill be a time la$se be#ore there is any
signi#icant return& .erha$s this is hy e ha(e seen a !ecline in the J812 test scores in math an!
science in "merica9 Their e!ucation is seen as a long term in(estment ith no imme!iate return&
"long these same lines, "merican uni(ersity rankings ha(e remaine! high, because they ha(e
been seen as a 0shorter term1 in(estment& Because there is a time la$se an! no imme!iate return
ith basic research, our go(ernment is #orce! to !o that last thing any go(ernment oul! ant to
!o9 trust in science& We must trust that science in the laboratory ill bring about !isco(eries that
ill ha(e a$$licable uses an! contribute to our country7s $osition as a lea!er in the #iel! o#
technology an! science&
This is best !emonstrate! by a story concerning )ichael 5arra!ay, one o# the #oun!ing
#athers #or our un!erstan!ing the relationshi$ beteen electricity an! magnetism9 *n 1BG0
4nglan!, 05arra!ay is sai! to ha(e been (isite! at his laboratory by the then Chancellor o# the
4:che;uer, Gla!stone ,e(entually .rime )inister-& "#ter looking at 5arra!ay7s ork an! his
unti!y laboratory, Gla!stone sai! to 5arra!ay, KThis is all (ery interesting, but hat goo! is it F7
5arra!ay is sai! to ha(e re$lie!, K'ir, * !o not kno, but some!ay you ill ta: it&71 ,Richter, DB-&
This cute, yet insight#ul, story $er#ectly !emonstrates that, hile in $rogress, basic research can
be as uncertain an! seem as en!less as the outskirts o# our uni(erse, but that the return ill
almost certainly be orth the ait&
"s a stu!ent stu!ying $hysics at a research uni(ersity in the =nite! 'tates, it is only right
that * state that there are a!!itional, an! sometimes greater, incenti(es #or basic research& * oul!
like to reiterate the im$ortance o# 0knole!ge #or knole!ge7s sake&1 )a%ority o# the scienti#ic
community is moti(ate! by the satis#action o# learning hat no one else has knon be#ore9 0*t is
that moti(ation that !ri(es the young scientist to the ty$ical @0 to B0 hour ork eek, not the
technologies that may come #rom his or her scienti#ic ork&1 *t is human nature to e:$lore the
unknon #or ansers as to ho e are, here e are, an! here e came #rom& Go(ernments
an! society shoul! recogni+e the intrigue an! im$ortance o# these ;uestions, an! thus continue to
su$$ort the e:$loring o# the unknon, as e ha(e !one #or thousan!s o# years&
Works Cite!
L"merican 'cience in Decline&L The Washingtion Times& A&$&, 17 July 200G& Web& 07 Dec&
2012&
3ather, Gregory& LThe =nite! 'tates o# "merica an! 'cienti#ic Research&L PL! "#& A&$&, 1@
"ug& 2010& Web& 07 Dec& 2012&
Richter, Burton& LThe Role o# 'cience in /ur 'ociety&L Physics Today DB&? ,1??G-9 DC8GC&
.rint&
LWhat *s Basic ResearchFL Lawrence $erkeley Labs& A&$&, n&!& Web& 07 Dec& 2012& Mhtt$9HH
&lbl&go(H4!ucationH4<'*H5ramesHresearch8basic8!e#ine!8#&htmlN&