Science and Industry

I was irritated by this article, in which industry leaders urge British Universities to spend more time considering the practical applications of the research they produce. This call seems to be trotted out on an annual basis, in a time when funding for "blue sky" research is ever dwindling. Indeed, even when money is set aside (say, by the Research Councils) for ambitious, long to medium-term proposals that may never lead to tangible "product", the message that pure research should be supported doesn't seem to have filtered down to referees. In this article, Stephen Rose outlines what he thinks are the core reasons for the perceived decline of British science.