In May 2009, University of Chicago physicist Eric D. Isaacs took the helm of the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. Earlier in his career, Isaacs spent 13 years at Bell Laboratories, where he directed semiconductor and materials physics research. Recently,
Science News
senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with Isaacs about ways to reinvigorate research, especially on energy.
You’ve described corporate research centers such as Bell Labs as engines of discovery and as potential models for national labs. How so?
ERIC D. ISAACS “If science isn’t looking like a good career, young people won’t sign on. And without them, you won’t get the next wave of innovations.” Argonne’s Leadership/Flickr
Bell Labs conducted pioneering research in support of a mission. Even its basic research and open-ended science was connected through an internal grapevine and people to real problems. And that’s an important role that government labs need to fill. It’s what the Department of Energy refers to as needs-driven science.
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