By MARK MARCHAND | Special to The Republican
(The Republican daily newspaper, the primary daily in Springfield, Mass. Feb. 17, 2017)
BOSTON — Like the Revere silversmith who spread an important message in 1775, international scientists gathered near where Paul Revere lived and worked this week to sound an alarm of equal or greater magnitude: basic science matters.
Speaking to thousand of scientists and researchers from across the globe Thursday night, American Association for the Advancement of Science President Barbara Schaal implored the group to accelerate efforts to explain the value of sound, fundamental science to the general public, and advocate for the use of evidence-based science in government policy making.
“The case for science must be made again and again so that government understands the essential, critical role science plays in our lives,” Schall, also dean of the faculty of arts and sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, said during the opening address at the four-day conference in the Hynes Convention Center. It was the 183rd annual meeting of the organization.
“Sadly, in the U.S. over the last 10 years, there’s a feeling of concern that the entire scientific enterprise is under threat, that our position in the the world is eroding, and that we’re marginalized,” she added. “Our concern is that science is being discounted as just another policy system. We’re concerned with intensifying hostility toward science in many parts of globe. We need the entire science community to have a clear voice and deliver a message for science.”
Citing recent moves by President Donald Trump that effectively limit travel here from some countries as well as restrict communications from scientists at federal agencies, Schaal reminded her audience that science — and the myriad life-saving and life-improving advances and technologies it has produced — works best without borders or limits on sharing of information.
“Science is not a political construct or a belief system,” she added. “We’ve seen a dampening of the international nature of science by restricting the movement of people across borders. Science is without borders. Just as ideas need to flow across political boundaries so do people.”
One major area of concern for Schaal is basic science, the fundamental, ground-level scientific research that forms the foundation for later, more advanced “applied” science that produces more concrete results, ranging from new communication devices to disease-fighting medicines to agricultural improvements.
She pointed to an old Congressional program that poked fun at basic science research projects funded with federal dollars. Called the Golden Fleece awards, the program highlighted research projects with funny names or apparently obscure intent.
“Then and now, many of these projects are called into question repeatedly,” she explained. “The connection of a free-flowing, curiosity-driven research enterprise to eventual benefits to society is not straightforward.
“We’re often asked, ‘Why not just focus on applied research based on clear problems that face us today?’ We’re often asked, ‘Why does the government spend money on supporting research into fruit flies, or studying the atmosphere of Venus?’ “
The answer, she said, is that almost without exception, applied research and results trace their roots to basic research that was conducted without any goal other than gaining a better understanding of our world, our universe and ourselves. The biggest challenge is that such understanding doesn’t come quickly. It can take decades before some of what we learned from a basic research project helps lead scientists or companies to discover and make available crucial advancements or technology.
One example she used involved the German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. His 1914 theories on the relationship between matter and energy and other hypotheses provided important clues to making today’s Global Positioning Systems work so well.
Both issues — the time it takes for basic research to pay off and the unpredictability of where basic research might lead — help make basic science a target for those who don’t understand the benefits, especially those in the public policy arena.
Schall also lamented the slow pace or outright silence from the new administration when it comes to science.
“The new president needs to fill the roles of science advisers,” she said. “Our hope is that these advisers will help guide policy based on facts, not on facts one wishes were true.”
(Link to original story on newspaper website.)