There’s an awful lot going on at the same time this week as far as science funding is concerned. Besides the Recovery Act, there’s the Omnibus Bill for the FY09 budget and then the blueprint for the FY10 budget–it’s all hitting at the same time and so this is not the time for drawing conclusions.
But it’s certainly the time to be preparing our faculty to move rapidly in terms of new opportunities for sponsored federal funding. Accordingly, just as we are retrenching in response to the economic crisis, we’re simultaneously brainstorming about the new science that might be possible with proper federal investment.
To my mind, science investment, is a major driver of the economy. In the current unprecedented conditions (at least in my lifetime), it’s the commonsense way to drive forward towards new technologies that will open up new opportunities, while at the same time educating our citizens to compete in an increasingly dynamic world. I hope the Obama Administration agrees.
Discoverers and Discoveries 