The director of the National Science Foundation, Sethuraman Panchanathan, paid a visit to San Diego this week to dedicate an upgraded earthquake shake table at UC San Diego. The NSF invested more than $16 million in the project. Panchanathan was here to see how the foundation’s annual investment in the region is being spent. The NSF invested $150 million in San Diego research in 2021 alone. Panchanathan spoke with KPBS science and technology reporter Thomas Fudge.
You say that science is a bipartisan issue and it certainly should be. But do you feel that scientists get the respect that they deserve when it comes to issues that are politically controversial?
Panchanathan: I think they do — as long as they have data and information that backs up what they say. And I’ve never seen anything less than respect for scientists. And this is one of the things that NSF does and promotes, is not just investing in amazing ideas. But, also, how is science is represented? How is science perceived? (We must explain) how science becomes a solution pathway for many different grand challenges, most importantly, economic innovation and prosperity across the nation. I think this is something NSF does really well and should do better into the future.
What are you doing in San Diego?
Panchanathan: I’m very delighted to be here because we are always looking for exemplars of what NSF stands for. I talk about the DNA of NSF. The first one is curiosity-driven, discovery-based explorations. And the other strength is use-inspired, solutions-focused translations of innovations. These are highly intertwined. And so this symbiosis of what the DNA represents, I find that San Diego is an excellent exemplar of that.
Like Qualcomm?
Panchanathan: I’m very excited about Qualcomm as a company because Qualcomm was a small-business-innovation research-investment program of the NSF in the early ’80s. And here it is today, a multibillion-dollar company, is something we’re very proud of. That’s the kind of inventiveness and what invention means for promoting a tremendous amount of prosperity. Jobs. We want thousands and thousands of Qualcomms all over the nation, not just limited to great places like San Diego, but even in places that don’t have such economic vibrancy. We want it everywhere. Because that’s how we ensure prosperity for everyone.
In some of your statements you’ve talked about challenges we’re facing. What do you feel are the biggest challenges in our society and how does science need to respond?
Panchanathan: The greatest challenge I would say is that we have not made possibilities for every citizen of …….
