BASIC research: a technological savings account 



called uncommitted fundamental research must be a matter of 

 faith. It is a faith that can be amply justified in the certainty 

 that new knowledge will one day be valuable, whatever its 

 form, whatever its direction. 



The financial support of academic research, it seems to 

 me, is a clear responsibility of industry and government, not 

 as an act of altruism, but to provide an insurance policy, if you 

 will, for future progress. I am glad to note that both industry 

 and government are meeting that obligation in their increasing 

 support of academic research. I would say only that what is 

 being done is still inadequate, and that private and public 

 agencies should increase substantially their contributions to 

 basic research in university laboratories. 



I believe also that neither industry nor government has 

 fully realized the importance of the unrestricted grant, the type 

 of grant that recognizes the quality and ability of the scientist 

 as distinct from the general appeal of the program for which 

 he asks support. 



The Du Pont Company has, over the last ten years, made 

 such unrestricted grants to many universities aggregating sev- 

 eral million dollars. We require no justification, no program or 

 project. We look only at the quality of the man, the depart- 

 ment, or the university to which the grant is made. 



Too often a university scientist is forced to compromise, 

 to modify, or to restrict his program in order that he may pre- 

 pare a project sufficiently attractive to win the support of a 

 sponsor. It seems to me that public and private agencies should 

 have sufficient confidence to support talent without restriction, 

 indeed without any basis other than confidence in the inherent 

 ability of the individual. 



In sum, I would uroe a substantial increase in unrestricted 

 funds, based not upon projects but on men, not upon desired 

 objectives but upon creative talent. Only in this way can we 



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