CfP: Globelics Academy 2017: 12th International PhD School on Innovation and Economic Development | Tampere, Finland | 15-26 May

Globelics Academy 2017: 12th International PhD School on Innovation and Economic Development

15-26 May 2017

Venue: University of Tampere, Finland

 

Call for Applications | Deadline: January 20, 2017

 

The Aim of the Globelics Academy

The aim of the Globelics Academy PhD School is to support the training of PhD students who utilize the innovation systems approach in context of emerging or developing economies in their dissertations. The Academy brings together frontier researchers in innovation with PhD students from developing countries in order to inspire and qualify their work as well as to help them to join high quality research networks in their field of research. The Globelics Academy aims at improving students' ability to undertake theoretically informed and policy-relevant empirical work on issues related with innovation in firms and societies, and its relationship with economic development. The Globelics Academy originates from and is connected to the world-wide research network Globelics (www.globelics.org) bringing together scholars working on national systems of innovation.

 

The Content of the PhD School

PhD training will be based on scholarly lectures and presentations from the PhD students. Student presentations are expected to focus explicitly on students' own on-going research, its methodological challenges and contribution to the advancement of knowledge on innovation. Lecturers for 2017 include professors form Globelics network, whose names will be confirmed soon (see webpages of previous years for example). In addition, other activities including policy lectures, panel discussion, workshops, social activities and visits to relevant "sites of innovation" are part of the program.

 

Further Details

Call for Nomination: NIAS-DST Training Programme on "Science Policy and General Management" | 6-17 February | NIAS Bangalore

NIAS-DST Training Programme on "Science Policy and General Management"

6-17 February 2017

at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, India

Invitation for Nomination

The broad theme for the two-week NIAS-DST training programme to be held during February 6-17, 2017 is "Science Policy and General Management" with 'Energy Security and Sustainable Development' as the core theme. Consistent with the mission of NIAS, this training programme emphasizes the development of leadership qualities through the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge. The thematic focus of this year's training programme will be particularly suited for those with an interest in energy technologies and sustainable development. 

One of the largest research concentrations at NIAS is the Energy and Environment Policy Programme, which is a unique group in the country with a comprehensive approach to address energy challenges. Here researchers from natural sciences and engineering work in collaboration with those from the humanities and social sciences in developing comprehensive technology and policy solutions to India's persistent energy problems.

India's projected economic growth and demographic expansion highlights the twin challenges faced by policymakers to increase energy supplies while also seeking to minimize the environmental impacts of energy development. For the past two decades India bas been facing a significant tightening of its energy supplies causing obstacles for development and growth. Energy planning and development in India also suffer from the fragmented nature of policymaking in the State and Central governments resulting in suboptimal outcomes. While public resistance is increasingly proving to be a challenge for industrial development, energy projects face peculiar difficulties due to differing distributions of costs and benefits among various stakeholders and perceptions thereof.

What should be the optimal energy mix for a large country like India that can address these goals? How can India address the supply problems of coal, oil, and natural gas in the short and medium term? What are the technically and economically feasible limits of renewable and nuclear energy penetration in India? How can India's energy security goals be met while also not compromising its national security and foreign policy interests? Finally, how will the country address inequality of energy access arising out of poverty and geography? The choice of topics for discussion in the training programme will provide orientation and in-depth analysis of various national energy challenges. 

The objective of this training programme is to expose participants to various local, national, and international issues affecting India's energy development in the medium and long term. In addition, the training programme will also enhance planning skills relevant for science and technology administrators, and in particular, to offer views of the broader scientific, economic, social and cultural milieu in which the Indian Scientific enterprise could develop in this century.

About 20 eminent speakers and researchers will be addressing the participants on various topics during the two-week programme, which will also have two public lectures, an industrial site visit, and a cultural outing during the weekend break. The general format of the speaker sessions is a presentation for 45 minutes followed by lively discussions for 45 minutes. We encourage all participants in our courses to interact as widely as possible with the speakers and continue discussions during coffee and lunch breaks. Engaging in a broader conversation during this training programme is expected to enrich the participants and expose them to issues beyond their narrow domain expertise.

For Inquiry Contact: National Institute of Advanced Studies | Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru 560012 | Email: dst.spgm2015@gmail.com, rethinaraj72@gmail.com, niasdst.mdp@gmail.com | URL: www.nias.res.in

Last Date for Nomination: 9th January 2017.

Further Details

New Book | A Practical Guide to Responsible Research and Innovation: Key Lessons from RRI Tools | by RRI Tools Consortium, 2016

A Practical Guide to Responsible Research and Innovation: Key Lessons from RRI Tools

by RRI Tools Consortium, 2016, www.rri-tools.eu.

About the Book

This quick guide explains what responsible research and innovation really means and why it is so important for modern society. It explores RRI through the lens of the RRI Tools project and provides practical examples of its implementation through a number of case studies (page 15) and an overview of the RRI Toolkit structure and main contents (page 33). A selection of 'How To' guidelines (page 37) explains how to apply RRI to specific situations, including policy, research and business contexts. Finally, this guide provides five recommendations (page 51) that can help to make all types of research and innovation more responsible. This document explains how RRI Tools has laid the groundwork for more responsible, acceptable, and ethical science and technology development in Europe — in the pursuit of a better, more sustainable and more equitable world. 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Shaping the future: A Responsible Research and Innovation policy brief

Learning from example: RRI Showcases

The RRI Toolkit structure

Hands on: How To implement RRI 

5 golden rules for achieving RRI

Minds on, hearts on: reflecting and looking ahead

About the Authors

The RRI Tools Consortium project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 612393. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC) License.

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New Book | The Politics of Innovation: Why Some Countries Are Better Than Others at Science and Technology | by Mark Zachary Taylor, OUP, 2016

The Politics of Innovation: Why Some Countries Are Better Than Others at Science and Technology

by Mark Zachary Taylor, Oxford University Press, 2016, Paperback, 441 pages, ISBN: 9780190464134.

About the Book

Why are some countries better than others at science and technology (S&T)? Written in an approachable style, The Politics of Innovation provides readers from all backgrounds and levels of expertise a comprehensive introduction to the debates over national S&T competitiveness. It synthesizes over fifty years of theory and research on national innovation rates, bringing together the current political and economic wisdom, and latest findings, about how nations become S&T leaders. Many experts mistakenly believe that domestic institutions and policies determine national innovation rates. However, after decades of research, there is still no agreement on precisely how this happens, exactly which institutions matter, and little aggregate evidence has been produced to support any particular explanation. Yet, despite these problems, a core faith in a relationship between domestic institutions and national innovation rates remains widely held and little challenged. The Politics of Innovation confronts head-on this contradiction between theory, evidence, and the popularity of the institutions-innovation hypothesis. It presents extensive evidence to show that domestic institutions and policies do not determine innovation rates. Instead, it argues that social networks are as important as institutions in determining national innovation rates. The Politics of Innovation also introduces a new theory of "creative insecurity" which explains how institutions, policies, and networks are all subservient to politics. It argues that, ultimately, each country's balance of domestic rivalries vs. external threats, and the ensuing political fights, are what drive S&T competitiveness. In making its case, The Politics of Innovation draws upon statistical analysis and comparative case studies of the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Israel, Russia and a dozen countries across Western Europe.

Table of Contents

Cardwell's Law

1 Introduction: The Puzzle of Cardwell's Law

2 Measuring the Black Box

3 Cardwell's Law in Action

How Do Nations Innovate?: Policies and Institutions

4 Does Technology Need Government?: The Five Pillars of Innovation

5 "Why Nations Fail": Capitalism, Democracy, and Decentralization

6 How Nations Succeed: Networks, Clusters, and Standards

Why Do Nations Innovate?: Creative Insecurity

7 Technological Losers and Political Resistance to Innovation

8 Creative Insecurity: Olson's Nemesis

9 Critical Cases of Creative Insecurity

10 Conclusion: Creative Insecurity and its Implications

Appendices-Definitions, Measurement, and Data

A1 The Great Definitions (Non-) Debate

A2 A Brief History of Measurement

A3 Tour of Innovation Measures, Data, and Sources

About the Author

Mark Zachary Taylor is Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.

​Further Details

New Book | Trinity for Development, Democracy and Sustainability | by RIS, India, 2016

Trinity for Development, Democracy and Sustainability

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, India, 2016, ISBN: 8171221238.

Preface

What evolved as a partnership among India, Brazil and South Africa at economic fora in late nineties eventually emerged as IBSA - a strong grouping of democracies from the South. The coming together of these countries provided a major impetus to the very idea of South-South Cooperation (SSC). In the beginning of this century, the Trinity from the South represented leading economies in the respective continents and represented complementary strengths and capabilities that could be exploited for mutual benefit. The shared political and economic history and similar development experiences provided further heft needed for the broad base of the engagement. 

The brief history of this grouping is extremely rich and needs to be preserved and be proud of. It has to be protected from associated angularities and external influences. IBSA partnership has great potential to make a major contribution to the economic development of the three subregions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In this regard, issues such as IBSA and global governance, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), S&T cooperation, IBSA Trust Fund, among others, assume great significance. Keeping this perspective in view, RIS has brought out this Report. 

The Report has been prepared by the RIS Research Team and focuses on the current facets of IBSA in terms of global-strategies, protagonism on SSC, social sector commitments, S&T cooperation and collaborative strategy to achieve SDGs, IBSA Trust Fund and its effectiveness. 

...

I am sure the Report would serve as an important policy research reference by all policymakers, academics, practitioners and other stakeholders associated with deepening development cooperation among IBSA countries in the broader context of promoting SSC and implementation of SDGs Agenda.

Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi | Director General, RIS

Contents

Foreword by Ambassador Shyam Saran, Chairman, RIS

Preface by Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS

I. IBSA and Global Geo-strategies

II. Brazil, India and South Africa: Key Proponents of South-South Cooperation

III. IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger

IV. S&T Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Beyond in IBSA

V. Sharing of Social Sector Experiences in IBSA: Way Forward

VI. IBSA: Health Sector Cooperation Past, Present and Future

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New Report | BIMSTEC, The Road Ahead | by RIS, India, 2016

BIMSTEC, The Road Ahead
by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, India, 2016, ISBN: 81-7122-122-X.

About the Report
The present Report is the outcome of a Consultation that RIS organised in the context of BRICS outreach to BIMSTEC on 27 September 2016. The meeting deliberated on important issues of trade, investment and regional value chains and connectivity in regard to people to people contacts and BIMSTEC, BRICS and global governance. It contains an introductory chapter which highlights the key issues for strengthening economic cooperation among BIMSTEC countries alongwith brief contributions from eminent commentators in the field.
We are sure the academicians, stakeholders, policymakers and practitioners would find the publication interesting and a useful reference for future course of action for promoting economic development cooperation in the BIMSTEC sub-region.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Ambassador Shyam Saran, Chairman, RIS
Message by Sumith Nakandala, Secretary General, BIMSTEC
Preface by Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS
1. Overview: BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Vibrant Community
2. Rejuvenation of BIMSTEC | Sumith Nakandala
3. Strengthening BIMSTEC Secretariat | Seshadri Chari
4. Challenges before BIMSTEC | Preeti Saran
5. Trade, Investment and Regional Value Chains | S. K. Mohanty
6. Multi-Dimensional Connectivity | Ram Upendra Das
7. Challenges to a BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA): A Sri Lankan | Janaka Wijayasiri
8. Energy Security in BIMSTEC Region | Jyoti Parikh
9. People to People Contacts | Baladas Ghoshal
10. Challenges in People to People Contact | Fahmida Khatun
11. BIMSTEC and Global Governance | Samir Saran

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New Book | India and Sustainable Development Goals: The Way Forward | by RIS, India, 2016

India and Sustainable Development Goals: The Way Forward

by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, India, 2016.

About the Report

India along with other countries signed the declaration on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, comprising of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Sustainable Development Summit of the United Nations in September 2015. RIS through its work programme on SDGs in collaboration with UN in India pursued a rigorous research agenda to explore various facets of India's negotiations, adoption and implementation of SDGs.

As part of the work programme, RIS launched a special paper series on each of the 17 SDGs and two cross cutting themes – technology and finance authored by eminent experts in the related subjects. This publication is a compilation of the thematic papers and addresses key issues like: achievements under the respective/related MDG targets; remaining gaps in fulfilling targets under the respective/related MDG; philosophy and concept of the respective SDG and the targets; and implementation framework to be adopted by India in fulfilling the goal.

This Volume would be found useful by all those who are working for successful implementation of SDGs agenda, particularly from the point of view of India. 

Table of Contents

• Message by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Hon'ble Minister of External Affairs
  
• Foreword by Amb. Shyam Saran, Chairman, RIS
  
• Preface by Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS
  
• End Poverty in All Its Forms Everywhere | Shahid Ahmed
  
• Hunger and Food Security Concerns for India | Bharat Ramaswami
  
• Health for All by 2030: An Indian Perspective | T. C. James
  
• India's Steadfast Approach to Quality, Equity and Inclusion in Education: Views from Experts | Based on deliberations at the National Consultation on Road to Sustainable Development Goals: Focus on Health and Education held on 9-10 February 2016.
  
• Gender Equality: Achievements, Gaps, Future Challenges and Implementation Framework to be adopted by India | Nirmala Buch
  
• Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation | Indira Khurana
  
• Where are we on the Missing MDG – Energy? | Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay and Kasturi Das
  
• Enabling Sustainable Development: Challenges to Job Creation in India | Santosh Kumar Mehrotra
  
• Industrialisation, Innovation and Infrastructure for Achieving SDGs in India | K.J. Joseph
  
• Trade, Infrastructure and Inequality: A Cross Country Analysis |Saikat Sinha Roy and Rudra Prosad Roy
  
• Incorporating Resilience and Inclusiveness in Policy Framework of Urban Development: Indian Case | Amitabh Kundu
  
• Sustainable Consumption and Production | Nitya Nanda
  
• Sustainable Development for Climate Action | Samir Saran and Vikrom Mathur
  
• Marine Resources and the Challenges to Sustainability | Balakrishna Pisupati
  
• Sustainable Management and Use of Terrestrial Ecosystem | Oommen V. Oommen and K. P. Laladhas
  
• Peace, Justice and Institutions to Ensure "No One is Left Behind" | Amitabh Behar
  
• Means of Implementation: An Indian Perspective | Sachin Chaturvedi, Sabyasachi Saha and Pratyush
  
• Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM): A Review of the Current Proposals and Way Forward | K. Ravi Srinivas
  
• Financing for Development: Emerging Modalities | Rathin Roy
  

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Indian "National Student Startup Policy" 2016 is launched

National Student Startup Policy 2016

by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), 2016.

About the Policy

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Student Startup Policy on November 16, 2016 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The National Student Startup Policy, formulated by AICTE, aims to create 100,000 technology based student start-ups and a million employment opportunities within the next 10 years. The policy plans on achieving this by developing an ideal entrepreneurial ecosystem and promoting strong inter-institutional partnerships among technical institutions. It emphasizes the much-desired need for an appropriate startup policy to propel the youth of India through and beyond the 21st century.

1. The Preamble:

An analysis of Indian entrepreneur profiles reveals that 32 years is the average age of entrepreneurs and that only 6 percent of them are women. Interestingly enough, the majority of start-up entrepreneurs in the country have a background in MNCs (multinationals) and Indian tech companies (35 percent and 27 percent respectively, from a sample of the report). Only 13 percent of start-up founders have absolutely no experience in the field before launching their ventures (NASSCOM Report). 

Student (owned) start-ups have started to contribute towards market expansion and job creation. Most of the student (owned) start-ups have evolved from technology courses instead of other liberal studies or social sciences disciplines. In recent years, a few technological and entrepreneurship development institutions have initiated efforts to design Start-up Policies for student ventures on their campuses.

AICTE took up the task of designing the 'Start-up Policy for AICTE Approved Institutions' to increase the efforts of institutions as they prepare students for entrepreneurship. AICTE's Start-up Policy would outline roles of the AICTE, Academic Institutions, and TBI (Technology Business Incubators) in creating student entrepreneurs. 

2. Vision:

To create 100,000 tech-based start-ups (student owned) and a million employment opportunities within the next 10 years (2025). This would be done by developing an ideal entrepreneurial eco-system and promoting strong inter-institutional partnerships among technical institutions. 

3. Mission:

To help create a larger number of student-driven, on campus start-ups that will add to economic and social value. To achieve this, the below mentioned strategies would be applied:

- Teaching students and encouraging them to take up entrepreneurship as a preferred career choice 

- Preparing students for successful launching of their start-ups

- Re-orienting academic curriculum and pedagogy with a strong focus on Start-ups

- Developing customized teaching and training materials for start-ups and engaging them in pre-startup activities

- Capacity Building Programmes / Activities for faculty as well as trainers.

- Mentoring start-ups to become sustainable.

​​Download Full-text PDF (Open Access)

Video of Launch Event

Contracting for Technology Transfer: Patent Licensing and Know-how in Brazil | UNU-MERIT Working Paper

Contracting for Technology Transfer: Patent Licensing and Know-how in Brazil

by Catalina Martinez & Pluvia Zuniga. UNU-MERIT Working Paper Series, 2016, No. #2016-065.

Abstract: Using contract level data, we study the relation between the inclusion of know-how in cross-border patent licensing agreements and the contractual terms used by firms to deal with moral hazard risks. We use official data on international technology contracts with patent licensing terms registered by affiliated and unaffiliated parties before the Department of Technology Transfer of the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) in Brazil between 1996 and 2012. We find that contracts between unaffiliated parties involving know-how transfer show distinctive contractual and technology features compared to the rest: (i) they involve younger but lower quality technologies (compared to contracts without know-how); (ii) they are more prone to up front lump-sum payments than royalty or combined payments (royalty and fixed); and (iii) they are more likely to be accompanied by the licensing of other IPRs, in addition to patents, such as trademarks. 

Keywords: patent licensing, know-how, trademarks, technology contracts, Brazil 

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New Book | The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future | by Sheila Jasanoff

The Ethics of Invention: Technology and the Human Future

by Sheila Jasanoff. W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, 320 pages, ISBN: 9780393078992.

About the Book

We live in a world increasingly governed by technology—but to what end?

Technology rules us as much as laws do. It shapes the legal, social, and ethical environments in which we act. Every time we cross a street, drive a car, or go to the doctor, we submit to the silent power of technology. Yet, much of the time, the influence of technology on our lives goes unchallenged by citizens and our elected representatives. In The Ethics of Invention, renowned scholar Sheila Jasanoff dissects the ways in which we delegate power to technological systems and asks how we might regain control.

Our embrace of novel technological pathways, Jasanoff shows, leads to a complex interplay among technology, ethics, and human rights. Inventions like pesticides or GMOs can reduce hunger but can also cause unexpected harm to people and the environment. Often, as in the case of CFCs creating a hole in the ozone layer, it takes decades before we even realize that any damage has been done. Advances in biotechnology, from GMOs to gene editing, have given us tools to tinker with life itself, leading some to worry that human dignity and even human nature are under threat. But despite many reasons for caution, we continue to march heedlessly into ethically troubled waters.

As Jasanoff ranges across these and other themes, she challenges the common assumption that technology is an apolitical and amoral force. Technology, she masterfully demonstrates, can warp the meaning of democracy and citizenship unless we carefully consider how to direct its power rather than let ourselves be shaped by it. The Ethics of Invention makes a bold argument for a future in which societies work together—in open, democratic dialogue—to debate not only the perils but even more the promises of technology.

About the Author

Sheila Jasanoff is professor of science and technology studies at Harvard Kennedy School. She is the author of many books on technology, most recently Science and Public Reason and Designs on Nature. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

​​Further Details

New Book | The New ABCs of Research: Achieving Breakthrough Collaborations | by Ben Shneiderman

The New ABCs of Research: Achieving Breakthrough Collaborations

by Ben Shneiderman. Oxford University Press, 2016, 336 pages, ISBN: 9780198758839.

About the Book

The problems we face in the 21st century require innovative thinking from all of us. Be it students, academics, business researchers of government policy makers. Hopes for improving our healthcare, food supply, community safety and environmental sustainability depend on the pervasive application of research solutions. 

The research heroes who take on the immense problems of our time face bigger than ever challenges, but if they adopt potent guiding principles and effective research lifecycle strategies, they can produce the advances that will enhance the lives of many people. These inspirational research leaders will break free from traditional thinking, disciplinary boundaries, and narrow aspirations. They will be bold innovators and engaged collaborators, who are ready to lead, yet open to new ideas, self-confident, yet empathetic to others.

In this book, Ben Shneiderman recognizes the unbounded nature of human creativity, the multiplicative power of teamwork, and the catalytic effects of innovation. He reports on the growing number of initiatives to promote more integrated approaches to research so as to promote the expansion of these efforts. It is meant as a guide to students and junior researchers, as well as a manifesto for senior researchers and policy makers, challenging widely-held beliefs about how applied innovations evolve and how basic breakthroughs are made, and helping to plot the course towards tomorrow's great advancements.

About the Author

Ben Shneiderman is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Founding Director (1983-2000) of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland. His development of user interfaces such as the highlighted clickable link for the web, small touchscreen keyboards, and information visualization concepts earned him membership in the National Academy of Engineering.

Table of Contents

Guiding Principles

1: Combining Applied and Basic Research: ABC Principle

2: Blending Science, Engineering, and Design: SED Principle Blending

Science, Engineering & Design

3: What Science Contributes: Persistence in Understanding the World

4: What Engineering Contributes: Devotion to Focused Innovations

5: What Design Contributes: Fresh Thinking to Serve Human Needs

Research Lifecycle Strategies

6: Choose Actionable Problems that Address Civic, Business & Global Priorities

7: Apply Observation, Intervention, and Controlled Experiments

8: Form Teams with Diverse Individuals & Organizations

9: Test Ideas and Prototypes with Realistic Interventions

10: Promote Adoption & Assess Impact

Making it Happen

11: Why change is hard, but possible

12: Recommendations for action

​Further Details

IITD Lecture "Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier" by Prof. Venkatesh Narayanamurti | 8 December

Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier

Speaker: Prof. Venkatesh Narayanamurti

Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy at Harvard

Date: December 8, 2016 | 5:30 pm

Venue: Seminar Hall, IIT Delhi

Abstract:

In this talk I will reflect om the genesis of the Information and Communications revolution and through an analysis of the hard case of Nobel Prizes in Physics to show that the causal direction of scientific discovery and radical invention are often reversed. They often arose in a culture of so called "applications oriented research" in industrial laboratories and will use those examples to enumerate the key ingredients of highly successful R&D institutions. My views have been shaped by my own personal experiences in industrial research, U.S National Laboratories and research intensive universities. By exploring the daily micro-practices of research, I will show how distinctions between the search for knowledge and creative-problem solving break down when one pays attention to how path breaking research actually happens. I will highlight the importance of designing institutions which transcend the 'basic-applied' dichotomy and contrasting them with models of the classic but still influential report Science, The Endless Frontier. The need for new integrative institutions to address global challenges such as climate change and alternative energy sources will be discussed.

About the speaker:

Venkatesh Narayanamurti is the Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy at Harvard. He has served on numerous advisory boards of the federal government, research universities and industry. He was formerly the John L. Armstrong Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professor of Physics and Dean of Physical Sciences at Harvard. From 2009 to 2015 he served as the Director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. He has a Ph D in Physics from Cornell University and a Honorary DSc from Tohoku University. He is the author of more than 240 scientific papers in different areas of condensed matter and applied physics. He lectures widely on solid state, computer, and communication, and energy technologies, and on the management of science, technology and public policy. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an elected member of the U.S National Academy of Engineering and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He served as the Foreign Secretary of the U.S National Academy of Engineering from 2011 to 2015.

Further Details

New Book | Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier | by Venkatesh Narayanamurti & T. Odumosu.

Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier

by Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Toluwalogo Odumosu. Harvard University Press, 2016, 176 pages, ISBN: 9780674967960.

About the Book

Cycles of Invention and Discovery offers an in-depth look at the real-world practice of science and engineering. It shows how the standard categories of "basic" and "applied" have become a hindrance to the organization of the U.S. science and technology enterprise. Tracing the history of these problematic categories, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Toluwalogo Odumosu document how historical views of policy makers and scientists have led to the construction of science as a pure ideal on the one hand and of engineering as a practical (and inherently less prestigious) activity on the other. Even today, this erroneous but still widespread distinction forces these two endeavors into separate silos, misdirects billions of dollars, and thwarts progress in science and engineering research.

The authors contrast this outmoded perspective with the lived experiences of researchers at major research laboratories. Using such Nobel Prize–winning examples as magnetic resonance imaging, the transistor, and the laser, they explore the daily micro-practices of research, showing how distinctions between the search for knowledge and creative problem solving break down when one pays attention to the ways in which pathbreaking research actually happens. By studying key contemporary research institutions, the authors highlight the importance of integrated research practices, contrasting these with models of research in the classic but still-influential report Science the Endless Frontier. Narayanamurti and Odumosu's new model of the research ecosystem underscores that discovery and invention are often two sides of the same coin that moves innovation forward.

About the Authors

Venkatesh Narayanamurti is Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Toluwalogo Odumosu is Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and Society and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

1. Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges

2. Boundaries in Science and Engineering Research

3. The Basic/Applied Dichotomy: The Inadequacy of the Linear Model

4. The Origins of the "Basic" and "Applied" Descriptors

5. The Discovery–Invention Cycle

6. Bell Labs and the Importance of Institutional Culture

7. Designing Radically Innovative Research Institutions

8. The Need for a Radical Reformulation of S&T Policy

9. Moving Forward in Science and Technology Policy

​Further Details