There is an interesting article in today's Sunday NY Times on the effects of the Bayh-Dole Law aka the University Small Business Patent Procedures Act which made it easier for universities to patent and licence the results of federally funded research. This allowed both the individual researcher and the university to monitarily profit from the research "product" but it seems that letting the "free market" operate on campus has some consequences that are detrimental to the traditional goals and conduct of scientific research (not to mention making some universities spend on investments that haven't and may never pay off). For more see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/technology/07unbox.html?_r=1&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=all or http://tinyurl.com/6nhbqb One phrase in the article that caught my eye was " 'Blue sky' research" which is described as "the kind of basic experimentation that leads to a greater understanding of how the world works". I must not have gotten the memo saying that we would now refer to basic research as "Blue sky research". When did basic research for the understanding of reality become a "romantic notion"? -Mike Palij New York University [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
