Cycles of invention and discovery : rethinking the endless frontier / Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Toluwalogo Odumosu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Narayanamurti, Venkatesh, 1939- author.

Odumosu, Toluwalogo, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Research--Methodology.

Research.

Science--Methodology.

Science.

Technology--Research.

Technology.

Physical Description:

170 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2016.

Summary:

This book argues that the standard categories of research as "basic" or "applied" have become a hindrance to the actual practice of research. The historical understanding of the basic vs. applied dichotomy is contrasted with the perspectives and lived experiences of researchers in various institutions. Using Nobel Prize-winning work as examples, the book explores the daily micro-practices of research and shows how the distinction of "basic" and "applied" quickly loses salience when one pays attention to the actual practice of research. The book offers an alternative view of the research process that sees the processes of discovery and invention as two sides of the same coin. By considering research as an integrative process that can lead to inventions and/or discoveries, this book provides a new model for understanding the practice of research.-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Breaking barriers, building bridges

Boundaries in science and engineering research

The basic/applied dichotomy: the inadequacy of the linear model

The origins of the "basic" and "applied" descriptors

The discovery-invention cycle

Bell Labs and the importance of institutional culture

Designing radically innovative research institutions

The need for a radical reformulation of S&T policy

Moving forward in science and technology policy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674967960

0674967968

OCLC:

946907120