Innovation
Has Anyone Seen the Superglue?
12/09/11 16:39 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Blogger Morgan Giddings at the Naturally Selected blog is concerned that with the emphasis at many universities these days on fast "translation," it seems that the whole endeavor has lost sight of the fact that all innovation and science takes time. She noted that there are several problems that make universities poorly equipped to reach the goal of fast translation — problems like bureaucracy, science by committee, and the "mixed mission" of a university that requires it to play a large array of roles. S. Pelech acknowledges that government organizations and the general public expect academic university-based researchers to improve the translation of their research into economically useful outcomes, but the current grant-funding system does not really facilitate innovative research, and government laboratories and universities often actively discourage their faculty from starting or working with commercial enterprises. Read More...