Friday, March 14, 2014

Taking a few days, + a philanthropy suggest for Google or Intel

Last post for a few days.  I want to make a suggestion, though.  Hey large tech companies, like Intel or Google, or for that matter Sematech or the SRC, or foundations like Keck, Moore, Packard, MacArthur:  You may have heard that NSF seems to have put shared physical sciences research infrastructure on the back burner.   I firmly believe that this is a bad decision that will have lasting negative consequences for many people.  I've written before about how much impact on science and engineering research and education there would be if companies (or individuals, I suppose, if they were sufficiently wealthy) would step forward and endow shared research equipment and staffing at universities.   Now is the time, when there is likely to be a real federal gap here.  I'm serious, and I'd be happy to talk with any interested parties about how this could be done - just email me. 
Update:  this is highly relevant.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Prof. Natelson,

You might be very interested in this NYTimes article about private philanthropy in science and its impact on science

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/science/billionaires-with-big-ideas-are-privatizing-american-science.html

Douglas Natelson said...

Anon - thanks - I'd updated basically simultaneously w your post!