CEO's Blog

Good morning!

In an article in Saturday’s New York Times, Steve Lohr asks a provocative question: Do we overrate basic research?

Those who know me will not be surprised at my position. I have long argued that basic research is overvalued in our society. Instead, greater emphasis should be placed on extracting full value from the scientific principles we already have.

Picomole’s home province of Alberta is unfortunately a good example of a jurisdiction with misguided priorities. Flush with oil revenues, the province has spent billions supporting basic research in academic institutions. Until recently, however, there was little support in the province for companies attempting to bring new technologies to market. This was a short-sighted strategy, given that technology companies are efficient engines of wealth creation, and oil is a non-renewable resource.

The media, too, tends to overrate basic research. It routinely trumpets academic advances in news stories, despite the fact that such discoveries are typically several years and sometimes decades away from actually benefiting society. Meanwhile, coverage of exciting start-up companies on the verge of bringing groundbreaking products or services to market remains comparatively rare.

Even a modest shift away from current priorities of basic research toward applications and “midlevel innovation”, as described in Steve Lohr’s article, could end up being a helpful prescription for our ailing economy. Picomole insiders have heard this before: I have been consistently saying that greater success will come from being innovative in every aspect of our business (i.e., midlevel innovation) – not just technological innovation. Food for thought.

Yours truly,
John