"In the long-established American ecosystem of scientific advancement, fundamental research-not geared toward immediate application-has mostly been conducted at universities with federal funding. The commercial sector, on the other hand, has been more likely to fund more applied research around ideas closer to market, including backing university studies in promising areas of computer science and medicine. Over time, industry has increasingly built its own innovations on top of basic,"
"Earlier this year, though, when sudden federal funding cuts upended university research budgets, the ecosystem fell into turmoil. Faculty whose work often flew under the public radar publicly pleaded the case for their academic pursuits. Researchers at UCLA even held an old-school science fair highlighting the work federal cuts have left in limbo, including studies of brain cancer; the college's renowned math professor"
Fundamental research has mostly been conducted at universities with federal funding, while the commercial sector has primarily funded applied research closer to market. Industry increasingly builds innovations on top of federally funded basic research, with artificial intelligence cited as a prominent example that received federal support for decades before rapid commercialization. Sudden federal funding cuts earlier this year upended university research budgets, leaving projects in limbo and prompting public appeals and campus events to showcase threatened work. Non-federal agencies and philanthropies can only replace a fraction of lost funds. Large foundations and new private funds offer grants, but substantial gaps remain for sustaining basic university research.
Read at Fast Company
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