While there are various good reasons for doing research and funding research, the chief reason is that research provides essential insurance against catastrophic events.
Global research funding, such as that offered by Denmark’s government, can open doors for African researchers to study abroad and then take their skills home.
Australia’s top scientist Alan Finkel says too many poor quality research papers are being published in Australia, and the system may inadvertently encourage academics to behave badly.
As we celebrate the nation’s founding, it’s a good time to note the heroism of George Washington. The British were a pain, to be sure, but what really caused him trouble were his teeth.
Money always seems tight for university scientists. A sociologist conducted hundreds of interviews to see how they think about funding sources and profit motives for basic and applied research.
Africa has recorded a tremendous growth in its output of academic engineering research over the past 20 years. Greater collaboration can increase this growth even more.
Science isn’t cold, hard facts uncovered by emotionless robots. Acknowledging how and where values play a role promotes a more realistic view and can advance science’s reputation for reliability.
South Africa’s National Research Foundation will dramatically scale back “incentive” funding to rated researchers, both those who already have a rating and those who will be rated in the future.
Surveying the bottom of the ocean turns out to be far from easy. But there was something wonderful about seeing animals we have only read about in old books.
The research community tends to assume advocacy doesn’t mix with objectivity. One study suggests there’s room for scientists to make real-world recommendations without compromising their trusted status.
Previous Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DSI-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor in Genetics, University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria