Trained as a mechanical engineer in India, Subra Suresh researched the interfaces between engineering, biology and materials science before becoming dean of engineering at MIT and, as of October, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. In February in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Suresh laid out his vision for the agency he now leads, which has a $7 billion portfolio for funding basic research. Science News contributing editor Alexandra Witze spoke with Suresh and compiled these comments from the interview and his lecture.
What is the value of basic research in these tough economic times?
In her memoirs, former British prime minister Maggie Thatcher relates a story about a meeting between the formidable prime minister and statesman William Gladstone and the scientist Michael Faraday. When asked by Gladstone whether his research in electricity had any value, Faraday promptly replied: “Sir, one day you will tax it.” How right he was. Our globe is now wired in ways Faraday could not have envisioned, giving us first heat and light, then power to fuel new industries and now the ability to communicate at the speed of light around the globe. The economic benefits flowing from Faraday’s early experiments continue to provide returns. We now have an emerging industry based entirely on the smart grid; one estimate projects it will reach $34 billion worldwide by 2020.
Is the United States losing its competitive edge?
Other nations are investing heavily in science and engineering. The U.S. is not the world leader in terms of gross R&D expenditures relative to GDP.… U.S. students are not performing at the top of the charts in international math and science assessments. Foreign students who contribute significantly to the science and research enterprise at American universities and colleges have many more options to study and work in their home countries. These are all troubling signs.