Abstract:
As one of the missions of COMSATS is to bring about sustainable socio-economic development in the South, it is very much fitting that the centrality of science and technology in the development process be explained again to policy makers. Therefore, I welcome COMSATS initiative to compile in one book, thoughts on the respective roles of basic research and applied research, even though it is a vast subject that could easily fill more than one single book. It would be presumptuous on my part to imagine advising developing countries of the South on their research policy. I would rather like to reflect here on the historical role of fundamental research; provide some recent examples from the field I am most familiar with, which is high-energy particle physics; explain how fundamental research drives innovation, and simply express some personal views. It is generally agreed that one could define fundamental research as the process by means of which science progresses, while applied research is the development of innovations based on the results of fundamental research.
Page(s):
41-52
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Proceedings of 11th COMSATS Series of Publications on Science and Technology, Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2007