A radical and timely proposal for reinvigorating transformative
scientific discovery.
So rich was the scientific harvest of the early 20th century that it
transformed entire industries and economies. Max Planck laid the
foundation for quantum physics, Barbara McClintock for modern genetics,
Linus Pauling for chemistry--the list goes on.
In the 1970s, the nature of scientific work started to change. Increases
in public funding for scientific research brought demands that spending
be justified, a system of peer review that selected only the research
proposals promising the greatest returns, and a push for endless
short-term miracles instead of in-depth, boundary-pushing research. A
vicious spiral of decline began.
In Scientific Freedom, Donald W. Braben presents a framework to find
and support cutting-edge, much-needed scientific innovation. Braben--who
led British Petroleum's Venture Research initiative, which aimed to
identify and aid researchers challenging current scientific
thinking--explains:
- The conditions that catalyzed scientific research in the early 20th
century
- The costs to society of our current research model
- The changing role of the university as a research institution
- How BP's Venture Research initiative succeeded by minimizing
bureaucracy and peer review, and the program's impact
- The selection, budget, and organizational criteria for implementing a
Venture Research program today.
Even in the earliest stages, transformative and groundbreaking research
can look unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to the patterns
established by the past. Support for this research can, in fact, be low
risk and offer rich rewards, but it requires rethinking the processes
used to discover and sponsor scientists with groundbreaking ideas--and
then giving those innovators the freedom to explore.
First published in 2008, this new edition of Scientific Freedom
includes over 30 redesigned charts and figures and a new foreword by
Donald Braben.
