Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation

Donald E. Stokes

ISBN 10: 0815781784 / ISBN 13: 9780815781783

Published by Brookings Institution Press, 1997

About this Item

Cloth hardcover, xiv + 180 pages, NOT ex-library. Minor handling wear. Book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. VG untorn dust jacket. -- An influential work that explores the relationship between basic scientific research and technological innovation. The book introduces a framework, known as Pasteur's Quadrant, which categorises research efforts based on their quest for fundamental understanding and their relevance to practical problems. This model challenges the traditional distinction between pure and applied research by highlighting the work of Louis Pasteur as an example of research that serves both basic science and real-world applications. Stokes' quadrant model divides research into four categories: pure basic research, use-inspired basic research, pure applied research, and the often-overlooked overlap where scientific inquiry advances both knowledge and practical solutions. Through case studies and examples, Stokes argues that use-inspired research, exemplified by Pasteur, plays a crucial role in driving technological advancement while also expanding scientific knowledge. This work offers insights for policymakers, scientists, and innovators, showing that scientific breakthroughs and technological innovation can co-exist and be mutually beneficial. This book is a vital resource for understanding how modern science interacts with technology, addressing the need for research that both deepens theoretical knowledge and has practical relevance. It is a critical guide for researchers, academic institutions, and policy-makers who are interested in fostering innovation without compromising scientific integrity.

Seller Inventory # 010629

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0815781784
• ISBN 13: 9780815781783
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Over fifty years ago, Vannevar Bush released his enormously influential report, Science, the Endless Frontier, which asserted a dichotomy between basic and applied science. This view was at the core of the compact between government and science that led to the golden age of scientific research after World War II—a compact that is currently under severe stress. In this book, Donald Stokes challenges Bush's view and maintains that we can only rebuild the relationship between government and the scientific community when we understand what is wrong with that view. Stokes begins with an analysis of the goals of understanding and use in scientific research. He recasts the widely accepted view of the tension between understanding and use, citing as a model case the fundamental yet use-inspired studies by which Louis Pasteur laid the foundations of microbiology a century ago. Pasteur worked in the era of the "second industrial revolution," when the relationship between basic science and technological change assumed its modern form. Over subsequent decades, technology has been increasingly science-based. But science has been increasingly technology-based--with the choice of problems and the conduct of research often inspired by societal needs. An example is the work of the quantum-effects physicists who are probing the phenomena revealed by the miniaturization of semiconductors from the time of the transistor's discovery after World War II. On this revised, interactive view of science and technology, Stokes builds a convincing case that by recognizing the importance of use-inspired basic research we can frame a new compact between science and government. His conclusions have major implications for both the scientific and policy communities and will be of great interest to those in the broader public who are troubled by the current role of basic science in American democracy.

About the Author

Donald E. Stokes is professor of politics and public affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.