Science Policy

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NAS Highlights Potential of Biomolecular Materials Research The ability to replicate the complex functions carried out by biological systems in materials could have a profound effect on the quality of human life, according to a recently released National Academies report. Such developments would likely lead to major advances in alternative and renewable energy, health and medicine, and national security. But according to the report, such results require an interagency commitment to and an educational institution investment in programs at the intersection of the physical, life, and engineering sciences. According to Arup K. Chakraborty, chair of the committee that authored the report, advances in biomolecular materials research are likely to pay off in both economic and societal terms. Investments in research programs and tools aimed at understanding biological systems on a fundamental level, and then harnessing this understanding to create synthetic systems, could lead to new materials with enormous potential for impact on national priorities ranging from reducing

dependence on oil to targeted drug delivery systems, the report said. The committee presented the following recommendations for facilitating a better understanding of how biological systems function and turning this knowledge into tangible results.  The Office of Science and Technology Policy should lead an effort to develop interagency programs that support innovative research at the intersection of disciplines in a concerted way. These programs should include incentives for universities to work across the traditional boundaries of disciplines.  Universities and medical schools should ensure that their curriculum prepares students to work across the physical science, engineering, and life science disciplines. These educational programs should be evaluated and include input from leaders in industry and national laboratories.  Relevant agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Science Foundation (NSF) should sup-

MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 33 • MAY 2008 • www.mrs.org/bulletin

port the development of short courses aimed at enhancing communication between physical and life scientists and helping them identify cross-disciplinary research opportunities.  Relevant agencies such as DOE, NIH, and NSF should intentionally build bridges from fundamental research results to commercial applications, and also encourage curiosity-driven fundamental research that could result in unanticipated applications.  DOE should continue evaluating the effectiveness of its mid-range instrumentation and computations facilities for nanoscience and technology. Similar centers could be created for biomolecular materials and processes research.

The report also calls for a continued investment in biomolecular probes. “The exciting state of research in biomolecular processes and materials has been powered by new experimental and computational tools for interrogating complex systems at a high level of details,” said the authors;

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