Elfenworks Foundation Initiative - The Benefits of Basic Research and Partnership
Basic Research
Lately there is a disturbing trend in some of the articles to cover basic research as something that can be done without. They point to velcro, and dismiss NASA, without also discussing the major medical innovations that have saved countless lives. Have smoke detectors saved anyone you know? Thank NASA, and that's just the beginning of the 30,000 innovations they've brought us. Faced with population pressures, widespread resistance to antibiotics, AIDS and TB and other communicable diseases, and climate change, there is no question that to successfully meet the challenges of the 21st century, we need to can't afford NOT to support basic research.
Public / Private Partnerships
Feed the poor. Do it now. Person to person. Do not wait for leaders. — Mother Theresa (as set to music in the Concert for Hope in Giancarlo Aquilanti's beautiful new La Povertà) In light of the growing debt burden carried by the Federal Government (and some States as well), and given the growing complexity of the problems we face, it is wise to look beyond our leaders for solutions. Increasingly, private citizens and industry are stepping up to to create better opportunities for research, innovation and entrepreneurialship.
One example is Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology, or TRUST. In this initiative, software vendors, operators, local and federal agencies work together to design, build, and operate trustworthy information systems for America's critical infrastructure. At TEF, we are proud to note that two universities we support, Stanford University and Mills College, are involved in TRUST.
