Quantum computing finds itself in a peculiar situation. The number one question asked about quantum computers by outsiders is very common sensical: What are they good for? The honest answer reveals an elephant in the room: We don’t fully know yet. For theorists like me, it’s an opportunity, a call to action. Continue reading →

After World War II, under the influence (direct and indirect) of people like Vannevar Bush, a "grand bargain" was effectively struck between the US government and the nation's universities.  The war had demonstrated how important science and engineering research could be, through the Manhattan Project and the development of radar, among other things.  University researchers had effectively and sometimes literally been conscripted into the war effort.  In the postwar period, with more citizens than ever going to college because of the GI Bill, universities went through a period of rapid growth, and the government began funding research at universities on the large scale.  This was a way of accomplishing multiple goals.  This funding got hundreds of scientists and engineers to work on projects that advisors and the academic community itself (through peer review) thought would be important but perhaps were of such long-term or indirect economic impact that industry would be unlikely to support them.  It trained the next generation of researchers and of the technically skilled workforce.  It accomplished this as a complement to national laboratories and direct federal agency work. After Sputnik, there was an enormous ramp-up of investment.  This figure (see here for an interactive version) shows different contributions to investment in research and development in the US from 1953 through 2021: Figure from NSF report on US R&D investment  A couple of days ago, the New York Times published a related figure, showing the growth in dollars of total federal funds sent to US universities, but I think this is a more meaningful graph (hat tip to Prof. Elizabeth Popp Berman at Michigan for her discussion of this).  In 2021, federal investment in research (the large majority of which is happening at universities) as a percentage of GDP was at its lowest level since 1953, and it was sinking further even before this year (for those worried about US competitiveness....  Also, industry does a lot more D than they do long-term R.). There are many studies by economists showing that federal investment in research has a large return (for example, here is one by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas saying that returns to the US economy on federal research expenditures are between 150% and 300%).  Remember, these funds are not just given to universities - they are in the form of grants and contracts, for which specific work is done and reported.   These investments also helped make US higher education the envy of much of the world and led to education of international students as a tremendous effective export business for the country. Of course, like any system created organically by people, there are problems.  Universities are complicated and full of (ugh) academics.  Higher education is too expensive.  Compliance bureaucracy can be onerous.  Any deliberative process like peer review trades efficiency for collective expertise but also the hazards of group-think.  At the same time, the relationship between federally sponsored research and universities has led to an enormous amount of economic, technological, and medical benefit over the last 70 years. Right now it looks like this whole apparatus is being radically altered, if not dismantled in part or in whole.  Moreover, this is not happening as a result of a debate or discussion about the proper role and scale of federal spending at universities, or an in-depth look at the flaws and benefits of the historically developed research ecosystem.  It's happening because "elections have consequences", and I'd be willing to bet that very very few people in the electorate cast their votes even secondarily because of this topic.   Sincere people can have differing opinions about these issues, but decisions of such consequence and magnitude should not be taken lightly or incidentally.   (I am turning off comments on this one b/c I don't have time right now to pay close attention.  Take it as read that some people would comment that US spending must be cut back and that this is a consequence.)

Holistic evaluations are for machines, not people