Nobel laureate pitches for more investment in science

Ben Feringa says it’s needed not just to solve immediate problems but also to grapple with issues in future

Dutch scientist Ben Feringa

Governments and politicians, who think in short-term gains, don’t often realise that investment in fundamental science is an investment in the future, said Dutch Nobel laureate, Ben Feringa on Monday.

Prof. Feringa, who shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is in India after he accepted the C.V. Raman Chair instituted by the Indian Academy of Sciences through which he will interact with researchers and students across the country.

Talking to

The Hindu on Monday, the Nobel laureate addressed concerns of scientists, not just in India but perhaps globally, that investment in science is often low on the priorities of governments in power.

India currently spends 0.6-0.7% of its GDP in science well below what the Netherlands (2%) or Germany (3.5%) spend.

“What I see in India is a lot of talent. But, you just need to invest in them, give them freedom for research or take up projects of their liking and then you’ll start seeing results,” he said.

Science needs sustained investment – not just for the solution of immediate problems, but perhaps also to grapple with the issues of an imminent future, he said.

Taking the example of the ubiquitous smartphone, which has undeniably changed the face of the economy over the past decade, he said: “The fundamental discoveries that have made smartphones possible were done in 1949-50 in materials, displays and transistors. At that time, nobody knew what it could be used for. Fifty years later, you see the impact,” he said.

China’s strides

A lesson could perhaps be from China, where investment in science has seen an impressive upswing.

“China has a lot of money for research. They are able to attract their students, who have gone abroad for research, back to the country by giving them opportunities and the best of equipment. This infrastructure and scientific talent makes it easier for scientists from across the globe to collaborate with them,” said Prof. Feringa.

Among the projects the Nobel laureate is undertaking is the research into self-repairing materials at Shanghai’s East China University of Science and Technology. The technology, whose applications range from self-cleaning solar panels to rapid healing of injuries, will become a reality in two decades, he said.

In the long-term, work on molecular machines – for which Prof. Feringa was awarded the Nobel prize – would have tremendous impact on the way medicine is done.

“For instance, drugs can be switched on precisely to target cancerous cells or molecular imaging to accurately identify tiny tumours. You can treat cancer without the side-effects. We can now make molecular motors that can respond, give signals, detect and deliver autonomously. ‘Robots’ in our bloodstream, to detect and cure, may be in the realm of science fiction now, but maybe in 50 years, it will be a reality as we now know how to do these movements,” he said.