Planning Today for Tomorrow’s Scientific Breakthroughs
It is the middle of September, summer is quickly making its exit, and we are deep into the harvest. The farmers’ markets are transitioning from exquisite summer salad ingredients to butternut squash, raspberries, and so many varieties of apples that one feels completely uneducated when reading the signs on the bushels.
In college, I was lucky enough to live in a house with a very large, very productive apricot tree in the backyard. The tree was planted when a family lived in that house, not transient college students, and it became an oasis of deliciousness in a desert of college carbs. We ate so many apricots, even attempting to dehydrate them on the roof of our house, and enjoyed the generosity of the earth and of the homeowner who had the foresight to plant a tree in just the right spot in that backyard. That is the nature of harvests: success requires planning and investing for the future. Seeds must be planted in early spring for tomatoes to come in August. And you are never sure, especially when you plant something like a tree, who will enjoy the results of your work.
I believe that the United States is living in a time of great harvest in the scientific community. Examples of this harvest could include mRNA research and the development of COVID vaccines, cancer immunotherapy with CAR-T cell therapies, and, closer to home, the latest innovation for debonding-on-demand adhesives for manufacturing. However, I worry about the care we are taking to ensure there will be more generous harvests in the future. Here are a few reasons for my concern.
Let’s start with young scientists. This is anecdotal evidence, but I think it is worth considering. I recently had a discussion with a friend whose child is studying materials science. This person reports that her young adult child and their cohort are having a very difficult time finding opportunities for graduate study. These are people with excellent grades from highly ranked universities and strong research portfolios. I also learned from this friend that these young scientists are not giving up on their studies. Instead, they are going overseas for graduate school.
Now let’s look at the established scientific community in the U.S. An article on SSTI’s website discusses a survey of more than 2,000 people from American Institute of Physics member organizations. The survey found that 76% of respondents living in the United States identified federal funding for science as a top concern. Interestingly, 57% of respondents living abroad also identified it as a top concern. Public trust in science was another major concern. The survey also found that 74% of U.S.-based respondents reported a negative impact from U.S. policy on the recruitment of international science and engineering talent compared with the past. Established scientists are concerned about funding and attracting talent, while some young scientists are looking outside the United States for opportunities to continue their studies.
There is a legend I learned when I was a kid about the American pioneers who were heading west in the hope of a better life. The story goes that they planted gardens in the spring in settlements they were almost assured would have a different group of people living in them when those seeds were harvested. The lesson of the legend: they planned for people they would never see, not for themselves. I believe this is what we have done in this country for many generations. We have invested in science, not for ourselves, but for the generations that will replace us. And that investment has yielded great, life-saving harvests. We should not forget, during abundance, what planning and sacrifice came before. And we should commit to making those sacrifices for the generations we will not see.
This issue of ASI features stories about research on materials science in label performance, bonding technologies for 3D printed parts, and an article by Univar about how new materials and market demands are driving adhesive formulation innovation. I hope you enjoy this issue, and as always, please contact me at parkerk@bnpmedia.com with your comments.
