Donald W. Braben

A radical and timely proposal for reinvigorating transformative scientific discovery.So rich was the scientific harvest of the early 20th century that it transformed entire industries and economies. Max Planck laid the foundation for quantum physics, Barbara McClintock for modern genetics, Linus Pauling for chemistry—the list goes on.In the 1970s, the nature of scientific work started to change. Increases in public funding for scientific research brought demands that spending be justified, a system of peer review that selected only the research proposals promising the greatest returns, and a push for endless short-term miracles instead of in-depth, boundary-pushing research. A vicious spiral of decline began.In Scientific Freedom , Donald W. Braben presents a framework to find and support cutting-edge, much-needed scientific innovation. Braben—who led British Petroleum’s Venture Research initiative, which aimed to identify and aid researchers challenging current scientific thinking—Even in the earliest stages, transformative and groundbreaking research can look unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to the patterns established by the past. Support for this research can, in fact, be low risk and offer rich rewards, but it requires rethinking the processes used to discover and sponsor scientists with groundbreaking ideas—and then giving those innovators the freedom to explore.First published in 2008, this new edition of Scientific Freedom includes over 30 redesigned charts and figures and a new foreword by Donald Braben.

Promoting the Planck Club presents rich mini histories of selected scientists whose work led to radical and transformational discoveries, their background, the prevailing scientific environment, and the conditions that allowed for their success. The text provides a broad audience of students, scientists, engineers, economists, and policymakers with ways to ensure that we take all steps to protect the flow of unpredictable scientific discoveries that are necessary for sustained levels of growth as well as ways to ensure that all steps are taken to protect the flow of unpredictable scientific discoveries.

Ask questions not on the agendaExplore ideas wherever they leadPursue goals because they're importantCreate options not yet perceivedAccording to premier researcher Don Braben, these are the vital intellectual processes that underlie all human achievement, the kinds of risk-taking activities that have made our civilization what it is today. Yet, warns Braben, the same pioneer spirit that fueled our meteoric industrial and scientific growth is now being undermined by a growing climate of corporate caution and conformity.In this groundbreaking manifesto on the importance of scientific freedom, Braben asserts that the greatest long-term risks facing humanity will not come from weapons of mass destruction, prolonged global war, devastating disease or famine, or even from extinction by a huge wayward meteor. Rather they will come from the debilitating attrition caused by the rising tides of bureaucracy and control that are steadily strangling human ingenuity and undermining our future.Addressing this serious and growing problem, Pioneering A Risk Worth Taking explains the urgent need to maintain both the originality and freedom of expression that is so vital to our economic growth and scientific development. Citing global trends and attitudes that currently threaten these conditions, Braben details some bold new initiatives that may offer a possible solution.A compelling read for today's scientists, policy makers, and concerned laypeople, Braben's book will change our understanding of the politics of scientific achievement and expose the threat to our future from bureaucracy, paper trails, political correctness, lowest common denominator solutions, and accountability-the invisible chains that bind the imagination and damage our society irreparably.

A revolutionary and timely proposal for reinvigorating transformative scientific discovery, written by a preeminent leader in Venture Research.So rich was the scientific harvest of the early 20th century that it transformed entire industries and economies. Max Planck laid the foundation for quantum physics, Barbara McClintock for modern genetics, Linus Pauling for chemistry - the list goes on.In the 1970s, the nature of scientific work started to change. Increases in public funding for scientific research brought demands that spending be justified; a system of peer review that selected only the research proposals promising the greatest returns; and a push for endless, short-term miracles instead of in-depth, boundary-pushing research. A vicious spiral of decline began.In Scientific Freedom, Donald W. Braben presents a framework to find and support cutting-edge, much-needed scientific innovation. Braben - who led British Petroleum’s Venture Research initiative, which aimed to identify and aid researchers challenging current scientific thinking - The conditions that catalyzed scientific research in the early 20th century The costs to society of our current research model The changing role of the university as a research institution How BP’s Venture Research initiative succeeded by minimizing bureaucracy and peer review, and the program’s impact The selection, budget, and organizational criteria for implementing a Venture Research program today Even in the earliest stages, transformative and groundbreaking research can look unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to the patterns established by the past. Support for this research can, in fact, be low-risk and offer rich rewards, but it requires rethinking the processes used to discover and sponsor scientists with groundbreaking ideas - and then giving those innovators the freedom to explore.