Investing in Science: Securing Future Prosperity

Lord Martin Rees argues that confidence is not only necessary for economic investment, but for creativity and innovation in the arts and sciences. In academia, Rees claims, financial security for scholars is a cost-effective investment in the long run.

Dr. Menelas Pangalos, Executive Vice President of Innovative Medicines at AstraZeneca, discusses the rising cost of prescription drug research. He explains that an inability to scale-up, combined with increased patient demands, has driven the price of developing a new drug to around $1.6 billion -- more than it costs to launch a space shuttle into orbit.

Professor Marja Makarow addresses the importance of new PhD's working abroad as a means of exchanging new ideas. "Mobility is key," she says, emphasizing the need for support for women academics with young families.

Sir John Chisholm presents the "eye-popping" reality of relative research funding procurement rates in the European Union and the United States. He goes on to discuss the importance of early customer funding for young companies.

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, responds to several common criticisms of high-level scientific research. Regarding the argument that astronomical research is impractical, Burnell contends that fields like astronomy attract young minds to science.

Brian Cox, Royal Society University research fellow at the University of Manchester, discusses the benefits of funding scientific research, even when it doesn't have practical applications. He highlights the example of CERN, which was instrumental in helping Tim Berners-Lee launch the World Wide Web.

Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Senior Vice President and CTO of Lockheed Martin, discusses the DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program. The program aims to accelerate innovative new Indian technologies and introduce them to markets in the United States and around the world.

Former member of Parliament Dr. Evan Harris evaluates the importance of the social sciences in a non-academic context. He argues that the social sciences should be ranked for particular purposes, as opposed to studying the arts and humanities "just for the hell of it."