Hi Rich, As I see it the problem is that the privately funded research becomes propitiatory so what is published and shared is up to the company funding the research. In the case of the Drug Industry they can choose not to release studies that show harmful affects of the drug the spent to develop, Avandia for example. They are simply to invested in the outcome of the study to be trusted to do good science. Results should not be censored, and result should be analyzed by independent people. In the case of energy sources they can withhold data that shows what a competing energy source is capable of providing. It seems contrary to good science, and paticularly in the case of medical research, all studies should be public domain. I think this clearly shows the fallacy that private funding provides and advances science better than public funding. Did the speaker advocate changes in the current funding environment? Erik --- retenney@yahoo.com wrote: From: Richard Tenney <retenney@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] OT: Science and public funding Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:54:54 -0800 (PST) So after attending last night's excellent F.O.S. lecture at the U on emerging solar photovoltaic technology, I came away a little troubled by something that I realized in the course of the lecture. I post this by way of trying to better understand things, so if I'm wrong in what I'm thinking here, please one or more of you correct me. It occurred to me that we are publicly funding (taxes, NSA grants, etc.) university-level research that in turn is being copyrighted and commercialized by the individuals receiving the grants for personal gain. I recognize that their hard work and creativity certainly deserves to be rewarded, but shouldn't scientific breakthroughs funded by taxes become public domain, available to any and all enterprising talent to bring said technologies to market (at a far more rapid pace than could said individual, who certainly wouldn't be excluded, and in fact have a head-start due to his/her intimate understanding of the emerging technology)? Aren't we the venture capitalists in that sense, entitled to share in the profit? Or is the profit that cool new things come to market? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject... /R _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com