Let's talk about the good news first.
Across the world, researchers have responded urgently and rapidly to the pandemic. The generation of new knowledge in universities, private companies and research institutions spotlights the nation's strong R&D infrastructure. In this Boston Globe Op-Ed, UMass President Meehan highlights the nation's committment to "exploration and discovery." The most urgent work concerns studying the virus itself, particularly the development of a vaccine. The federal government's "Operation Warp Speed" aims to deliver one by the end of year. This is truly an incredible feat compared to development of previous vaccines (for example, the mumps vaccine, which held the previous record for speed, took four years).
The generation of new ideas and knowledge has not been limited to science fields. For example, the speedy generation of papers in economics, leveraging current data and producing lots of interesting insights regarding the economy, markets, and households has been impressive. And even "smaller scale" inventions are flourishing. Take explorations into effective material-- coffee filters, vacuum bags, pantyhose-- for DIY facemasks. Or the clever ways to social distance. Hey, that's innovation!
So what's the bad news?
Universities are very worried about what the future will look like. Their financial status is shaky because they expect drastic decreases in both tuition revenue (especially from international students), and in funding from strained government budgets. Moreover, the human capital involved in the production of new ideas will also be adversely affected as most graduate students involved in advanced STEM research are foreign.
To conclude on a hopeful note...
There is bi-partisan support for continued investment in the country's knowledge generation. The Endless Frontier Act would provide $100 billion for "sweeping" changes to the National Science Foundation. The sponsors of the bill write:
“The country that wins the race in key technologies—such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced communications, and advanced manufacturing—will be the superpower of the future.”
