Science and Research Funding

Dr. Stephen Quake, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, wrote a guest column on the New York Times "Judson" blog this past week. In his column, "Letting Scientists off the Leash," he describes the specific challenges of securing grants for scientific research from funding agencies. Many of his points, from the time that writing proposals consumes, to the need for innovative approaches to funding the most original and pioneering scientific research, clearly resonated with the readers of the column. His writeup also made an impact on me and pushed me to comment about some of my own experiences, both successes and failures, in securing grants from funding agencies. You can read my comment -- it is number 16 and follows Dr. Quake's guest column in the NYTimes. Continue reading further the comments of hundreds that wrote in.