Turning Ivory Towers into a Golden Economy

Abstract

In early May, Steven Chu—Nobel Prize winner and the secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy—announced that the federal government would underwrite the formation of eight energy research hubs. Somewhat modeled on Bell Labs, the energy hubs would help scientists take basic research discoveries and translate them into commercially viable technologies. This is a good first step toward better capturing the vast commercial potential residing in America's research laboratories and inside the minds of our talented graduate student researchers and scientists. Unfortunately, scientists and graduate students lack entrepreneurial skills, and few universities have aggressive plans to go beyond research to the translation of research into practice. Something is missing from teaching curricula, research plans, and federal funding policies. We propose that translational research education be offered to every one of the 30,000 Ph.D.s graduating each year in science and engineering fields. Each student would have the opportunity to perform an impact or market analysis of his or her field; take mini-courses tailored to Ph.D.s in subjects such as business skills, finance and accounting, science policy, and entrepreneurship; and receive mentoring from successful entrepreneurs and from faculty from outside the sciences on how his or her work is informed by and affects society at large. If one in every five to ten Ph.D. students were to take on this extra dimension to their training, and if startup resources were provided for the top 20%, the total cost would be on the order of 1% of the federal basic research budget. ![Figure][1] The scientist entrepreneur's toolbox. CREDIT: JUPITERIMAGES With little upfront investment, we could turn universities from basic science discovery institutes into powerful science and technology innovation engines. In as little as 2 years, such a program could have a strong positive impact on the economy. Of course, not all scientists should become entrepreneurs. But more than ever before, students in the sciences are ready to follow the passionate path of entrepreneurship. Recent surveys from the National Academy of Engineering ([ 1 ][2]) have found that, more than at any time in recent memory, young engineering students want to use their education to improve the world. This is the classic definition of an entrepreneur. Federal investment is needed because unlike undergraduate and master's education, doctoral education is funded almost entirely through faculty research projects. There is no agency with a mandate to accept proposals for translational research and education except on a pilot level—but we need our government to take ownership of this problem and the exciting possibilities a solution holds for our country. 1. [↵][3]Committee on Public Understanding of Engineering Messages, National Academy of Engineering, Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering (National Academies Press, New York, 2008). [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text