The University of Utah (the U) made it to top-20 in the world on Nature Index 2017, a list of top institutions that produce high-quality research all the way from innovations to technology transfers. The link to the media report is at the end. It was certainly a great feat but not at all surprising to me.
I am fortunate to be associated with the U and have spent some great time at this beautiful university as a Fulbright Fellow. The two most amazing attributes that make the U special to me are; i) beautiful location of the campus and ii) the research-culture.
The spectacular campus of the U is situated in the north-east Salt Lake City on the slopes of Wasatch range of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking the great Salt Lake to the west. Just a few minutes hike or drive from the campus and you are amidst snow-peaked mountains, floral valleys, beautiful creeks and water-falls all around. It's a very vibrant place and gives a perfect environment to do academics. Anyways, that's not the focus of the post.
The point I want to emphasize on is the research culture at the U. It is a perfect amalgamation of research in basic sciences and market-driven technology development. The university encourages both aspects of the research equally. The emphasis on the basic research is evident from the statement by Andrew Weyrich, vice president for research at the U. He says and I quote; “The U’s value of basic research has been a strong catalyst for commercial innovation and technology. Successful commercialization starts with small discoveries in the lab that ultimately evolves into new technologies, products and services for society. This wonderful recognition is due to our remarkable faculty and the high-quality research that is produced through their continued dedication and hard work". Keith Marmer, executive director of Technology & Venture Commercialization at the U, also makes it clear that the basic research is on top of their priorities. He says, “Basic research provides the fuel for our commercialization engine”. To me, balanced approach towards basic sciences and market driven research is one of the most dominant factors behind this achievement by the U.
This balanced approach towards research in basic science and technology development is something, which is seriously lacking at Indian universities and institutes of higher education. We generally consider these two as isolated areas. Unfortunately, I often observe and experience discrimination towards basic sciences, particularly in the technical institutes like IITs and NITs. The science-departments in most cases are either ignored or considered to be secondary/service departments in these apex institutes of technology in India. On the other hand, the engineering and technology colleges in many universities suffer ignorance from the administration. It is high time we stop such biased treatments in institutes of higher education, if we aim to rise as a scientifically and technologically developed nation. I wish our university/institute administrators and policy makers understand the importance of the balance and and give equal weightage to both the aspects of research, while deciding policies and budgets.
