ROI from all that university research = x

By Gary Lamphier. The push by cash-strapped governments for more commercially focused scientific research has triggered a backlash among academics, who regard the unfettered pursuit of basic science as sacrosanct. Their concerns are understandable, to a degree. After all, no one wants university labs to become mere appendages of giant pharmaceutical, energy or food-products companies, whose primary goal is to grow shareholder profits, not expand the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Still, the fearmongering from academics seems a tad overdone. Typically, on most research projects, the relationship between industry sponsors and university scientists is clearly defined. Read more...