Why We Must Invest in Scientists, Not Just Science

—Westend61—Getty Images We often think of science as a search for answers to a specific issue: a solution to a known problem, or a cure for a particular disease.

In practice, scientific discovery is typically more chaotic and uncertain, full of false starts and contradictions.

That is why so many of the major scientific breakthroughs in human history have been born out of hunches, the product of imagination or serendipity, coupled with the brilliance and curiosity of a scientist to recognize the significance of a discovery.

For instance, graphene was born out of tangential research at the University of Manchester and is now used in everything from medical equipment and electronics to batteries and tennis racquets.

Scientific research invariably raises new questions.

What begins as a narrow inquiry opens dozens of new avenues of investigation, each capable of taking the research in an entirely new direction.

The pursuit of science is, at its core, less a journey towards a destination than an evolving exercise in enlightened exploration.

It is through patient, painstaking work, driven by curiosity and pursued through personal dedication and sacrifice, that scientific advancement occurs.

Yet, too often, our tendency as a society is to celebrate the tangible breakthroughs and neglect the assiduous process that made them possible.

The Nobel prizes are a magnificent celebration of transformative science.

But by design, most are awarded decades after the breakthrough discovery being recognized was first made.

Scientists, however, are typically most creative and productive early in their careers but fail to receive the financial support essential to reaching their full potential.

This quandary is replicated many times over within the wider world of institutional funding.

Public bodies and universities must decide which projects to back before they know where those ideas will lead.