Cycles of invention and discovery : rethinking the endless frontier /

Narayanamurti (technology and public policy, Harvard) and Odumosu (science, technology, and society; and electrical and computer engineering, Univ. of Virginia) pose a policy argument for moving "basic and applied" research away from individual research cycles into a more cooperative "invention and discovery" cycle. The authors discuss how from the end of World War II to the present, government funding agencies have typically "pitted" basic and applied research against each other for limited resources, forcing management to police grant applications and the use of funds to comply with the agencies' dictates. In studying Nobel Prize-winning corporate research and academic facilities (particularly Bell Labs and engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara), several common cultural practices contributing to their successes are noted: hiring for excellence; fostering the exchange of communication and ideas by locating offices and labs of those engaged in discovery within the same hallway as those involved with invention; major investments in infrastructure, such as a communal cafeteria and recreational facilities for further interaction; and avoiding the linear practice of research leading to development by encouraging and arranging for personnel interactions. This will serve as an important book for members of Congress, government agencies, research facility managers, and academic institutions that may hold influence over funding resources. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. --Leilani A. Hall, California State University, Sacramento