A Sobering Word from the US Presidential Science Advisor. (March 10, 2006)

    Just in case you thought US President George W Bush knew or cared about the difference between fundamental research and technology Science has published this snippet.

White House Sicks to Basics

 

High-energy physics is certainly basic science. But it's not what the Bush Administration is promoting when it talks about doubling basic research in the physical sciences over 10 years at three federal agencies. "There are exciting opportunities in high-energy physics, … but these are not emphasized in the ACI [American Competitiveness Initiative]," presidential science adviser John Marburger told the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is included in the ACI. The ACI focuses on nanotechnology, high-end computing, and basic energy sciences that promise a direct technological payoff, Marburger explained. University of Chicago physicist Melvyn Shochet, the panel's chair, called Marburger's words "sobering … and honest."