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[TEST Photo] Foundational Research test Photo/Video story
Foundational research, also called “blue-sky” or “curiosity-driven” research, is the pursuit of knowledge that can help us better understand our world and universe.
From gaining more insights into the origins of the Milky Way galaxy to knowing how the brain perceives letters in different contexts, foundational research is also the basis for new applications and solutions that help solve some of humanity’s challenges and problems.
Foundational research is critical to advancing knowledge and improving our world because it is
- fundamental to all major advances
- not driven by profit motives, which allows researchers to study little understood phenomena, investigate rare diseases, and generally take risks to explore new ideas
- openly shared since findings are available to the public as well as researchers around the world
- proven to have major payoffs over time. Among the numerous examples are the development of penicillin, the identification of DNA, and the discovery of semiconductors that power computing today
- mostly done by research universities like Stanford
It’s fundamental science that is the substance that allows us to translate our inventions into practical products for the world. Without basic science, there is nothing to translate.
–Carolyn Bertozzi, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor in the Department of Chemistry in H&S, the Baker Family Director of Sarafan ChEM-H, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022
Foundational research that has led to major advances
Early cognitive research paved way for today’s AI
More than 40 years ago, federal funding for Jay McClelland’s research into human cognition laid the groundwork for deep learning systems driving today’s artificial intelligence technology.
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Lasers first investigated by Stanford physicist now see a myriad of uses
Robert Byer’s foundational research developed the quietest, most stable laser in the world, which is today found in everything from communications satellites to handheld laser pointers.
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Chemical reaction research leads to cancer treatments
Nobel prize winner and Stanford chemist Carolyn Bertozzi spent ten years conducting mechanistic studies and analyzing reactions to develop the bioorthogonal chemistry that is now being tested in human cancer patients for chemotherapy.
Cultural burning returns to Jasper Ridge
Exploring the medieval roots of romance
