Public support for basic science.

Many people believe that scientists pursuing knowledge for its own sake make all the basic discoveries, which are later used by others for practical purposes.

But this widespread belief is both erroneous and mischievous, according to Donald E. Stokes in a thoughtful new book, Pasteur's

Quadrant? Basic Science and Technological Innovation. Scientists engaged in basic research - that is, those who are seeking to satisfy their curiosity rather than solve an immediate practical problem - are not the only ones to make important scientific discoveries. And creating a special support system for these "pure" scientists has weakened public support of science.

Politicians and the public are understandably restive at paying for scientific projects that are not connected to a perceived public need, according to Stokes. For this reason, the U.S. National Science Foundation has relatively few strong supporters outside the scientific community. Why, the taxpayer wonders, should my hard-earned money be given to some guy who wants to study the love life of chipmunks? For years, Senator William Proxmire lampooned the scientists with his "Golden Fleece" award for such wastes of government money.

By contrast, the National Institutes of Health - which funds thousands of researchers in its efforts to find solutions to problems ranging from AIDS to schizophrenia - has always enjoyed strong support both in Congress and among the general public.

NIH has always recognized that the basic understanding of biological processes is critical to finding cures for medical problems, according to Stokes. The public strongly endorses NIH's mission, encouraging Congress to provide funds that eventually support basic science in many fields.

NIH thus offers an institutional model for obtaining greater support for basic science, whose pay-offs are normally uncertain but likely to be enormous in the long run. One specific area where such an approach might work is the environment.

"The sense of research opportunity shared across a number of academic institutions has indeed already spawned an effort to create a National Institute for the Environment," Stokes writes. "It is quite possible that the emergence of an important new channel of funding of rigorous, peer-reviewed projects would further unite the research strengths of a number of scientific and engineering fields that bear on the environment."

Source: Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation by Donald E. Stokes. Brookings Institution Press, The Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. 1997. 180 pages. Paperback. $14.95.