In the US, university basic research has withered in many important fields, especially in the physical and information sciences and engineering.
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Industrial basic research has failed to demonstrate a return on investment that satisfies the ravenous appetite of financial markets for short-term earnings growth. As a result, companies have been directing capital to applied research and development, rather than basic invention and innovation.

The writer is president of the Johns Hopkhins University, the co-founder of three medical device companies and co-chairman of the US Council on Competitiveness's National Innovation Initiative.