This news report describes the meeting between the President of Princeton University with various Democratic members of the US Congress, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The meeting obviously centered on the need for investments in science research by the US Government and how that translates into the economic growth of the country.

An increase in American innovation could reduce the rate of unemployment, Augustine said. Though only a minority of American citizens are engineers and scientists, their efforts affect the lives and the jobs of millions, he explained.

The nation should take advantage of the “opportunity that we have now to improve peoples’ lives and peoples’ well-being,” Holt said, adding that it’s “important to get leaders in science, science policy [and] academia to look at the role of research.”


While I don't doubt that these are true, I've often criticize politicians and mass media reports that skimp on the details. Whenever we read reports like this, a lot of things are stated without any justification or support. I some time wish they would say "...go to such-and-such website where there are many description on what we discover from basic science research that have translated into jobs, advances in our lives, and how we understand more about many parts of our world...". It gives people the evidence they need to be convinced, rather than just simply stating something as facts without any support, which is what many politicians and charlatans like to do.

And if you do want to find support on how basic physics research has produced jobs and improve your lives, go to the American Institute of Physics website and look around.

Zz.