The Importance of Curiosity-Driven Science at MIT
“The thing that really impressed me when I came to MIT and continues to impress me every day is what’s going on here is amazing. The science, the engineering… every day I hear something that makes my jaw drop,” noted President Sally Kornbluth during a live discussion with Lizzie O’Leary of Slate’s “What Next: TBD” podcast.
Championing Curiosity and Basic Science
Kornbluth spoke about everything from the importance of curiosity-driven science and why basic science is critical to our country’s future to AI and education. She even gamely joined O’Leary in a rendition of the Williams College song “The Mountains” in honor of their shared alma mater.
“We are in this time of incredible uncertainty,” Kornbluth said of the current state of higher education and funding for scientific research. “We’re trying to keep the science robust.”
Navigating Skepticism in Washington
Reflecting on her time at Duke and her love of college basketball, Kornbluth compared her efforts to counter skepticism about higher education in Washington to a mix of zone coverage and man-to-man defense. She emphasized, “As one of the top institutions in the world, it is our responsibility to articulate the importance of science. Behind the scenes I am – along with many others.” She explained her frequent visits to Washington to engage with congressmen, women, senators, and the executive branch to highlight the critical role of universities.
The Critical Role of Basic Science
Kornbluth emphasized that the pipeline of basic science flowing from U.S. universities is a critical asset to our country and warned that further strain on that pipeline could have enormous negative impacts on the U.S. down the line.
“When you think about the research that’s being done in this country, it’s happening in universities, in national laboratories and in industry,” Kornbluth said. The majority of significant scientific discoveries begin in universities and require patience and long-term investment. As an example, she pointed to immunotherapy against cancer, which began 30 to 40 years ago in basic research. Given the exhaustion of this pipeline for new cancer therapies or new AI and quantum technologies, what does the future hold?
Impact on the Talent Pipeline
Kornbluth also emphasized that uncertainty and lost funding are having a “tremendous impact on the talent pipeline,” highlighting the unique role that universities play in educating graduate students who represent the next generation of scientific researchers. “We hear, ‘Oh, it would be fine if more research happened in industry.’ I say, ‘Would you fly in a plane with a pilot who has never flown?’ How do you think people learn how to research? We’re educating the next generation… and we’re losing funding for them.” She added: “I think we’re going to see repercussions for many decades to come if we don’t fix this problem.”
Innovative Approaches to Advancing Science
When asked how she and her colleagues are working to advance research, Kornbluth explained that at MIT “we’ve been trying to find alternative ways to advance science. We have a number of presidential initiatives that span the entire campus in areas like health and life sciences, quantum sciences, humanities and social sciences. The idea is that we’re trying to create new possibilities.”
Still, she acknowledged that losses from the foundation tax and reduced federal funding would be painful. “Right now there are only four schools that are subject to the 8 percent endowment tax, a tax on our income. For us, that means $240 million a year, plus other losses in grants. So let’s say we were looking at a loss of $300 million a year on a budget of $1.7 billion. … That definitely impacted us. No question.”
“The other thing about it is, once again, there’s all this uncertainty. Our investigators are writing a lot of grants. They don’t know if they’re going anywhere or if they’re really going to have the kind of competitive opportunities that they’ve always had in the past.”
Reflections on Unforeseen Challenges
When asked why universities didn’t see this moment coming, Kornbluth offered a few thoughts. “Look at MIT – 30,000 companies have come out of MIT. When you look at something like that, why would you think that a government that wants economic recovery in its country would come after MIT?” she thought. “It just never occurred to us.”
AI and the Future of Education
Regarding the rapid advances in AI and the field’s impact on education, Kornbluth noted that at MIT and other universities, we need to focus on the human element, we need to educate our students, they need to know how to write and do math… they need to look at AI as a tool to expand their skills. That’s how we think about it.”
Support for International Students
During the conversation, Kornbluth also expressed her unwavering support for international students, noting that most have the opportunity to stay in the United States after graduation and contribute to research there. “The talent that our international community brings to us is incredible. We can attract the very best in the world. You can bet they’re not sitting around in China saying, ‘Oh, it’s great that America is taking all of our students.’ They think, ‘It’s great that America no longer wants to take in so many of our students because we can educate them.’ It’s a competitive issue that we should really focus on.”
For more details, you can find the original discussion Here.
“`
