Why the attacks on science in the 21st Century imperils America’s future

The United States is facing a science talent crisis.

In the past, Americans have enjoyed a competitive advantage in attracting new investments and innovating news products to markets, but today, globalization has evened the field in capital and infrastructure. The last remaining differentiator is talent — talent is the key source of long-term sustainable competitive advantages for both companies and countries.

{mosads}But thanks to politicized attacks on science in America, the reputation of the scientific disciplines is suffering. False claims about climate change, vaccines and GMOs have, for far too long, questioned, rebuked and ignored scientific facts. At the same time, universities in other parts of the world are increasingly successful in getting their most talented science students to stay home.

The result? America’s long-held scientific education and talent advantage over the rest of the world is evaporating – and we must act now to reverse that trend before the damage is irreversible.

Well-known astrophysicist and science commentator Neil deGrasse Tyson asked recently, ‘Where did we fail in the educational system so that we’re producing a community of adults who when confronted with what scientists tell them, then cherry pick it to serve their own philosophical objective?”

The result of that failure is the current cultural narrative that discourages students from joining a profession that previous generations heralded as a noble and heroic field. Without a change in that narrative, talented students will continue to steer away from careers in science. And the U.S. competitive advantage will continue to slip away, perhaps irrevocably.

The U.S. government, large and small corporations, entrepreneurs, and concerned citizens need to come together to invest in not only science innovation initiatives, but also public campaigns that bolster the image of science.

We need big visionary goals, along the lines of the Cancer Moonshot led by Vice President Joe Biden which aims to bring together the best talent, medicines and science to cure cancer. Great ideas and great goals attract great talent. In fact, we already have “moonshots” in progress in areas like cellulosic ethanol and synthetic biology. Why shouldn’t they be presented and celebrated as such?

With the call to action for everyone to do their part, DSM itself is today launching the Bright Minds Challenge, an open competition inviting scientists and entrepreneurs to share innovative solutions that will fast forward the drive to renewable energy. In this first year of the challenge, we’ve decided to focus on solar and energy storage solutions in part because of our experience in that field. DSM is a partner in the Belvedere solar field in New Jersey that provides clean energy to our headquarters and serves as our tangible commitment to renewable energy.

The Bright Minds Challenge is an extension of that commitment. Any individual or small team working in academia or as part of a small start-up is invited to submit a short video summary, along with a detailed written proposal of their prototyped project. Our plan is to build a community of bright ideas where the public is encouraged to watch and vote, while the teams themselves champion their projects. Ultimately, the winners will receive tailored packages of support to develop their ideas.

With these efforts, it’s also important to acknowledge that science and scientific careers have changed and evolved over the years. Gone are the days of scientists working in an R&D lab for an entire career. Big data, analytics and the digitization of everything from computations to genomics has forever changed the sciences. The demand for technical skills and the need to constantly update those skills is a constant source of stress in all the scientific fields.

Today, it is multi-disciplinary scientists that are in demand. Our educational system needs to work to make sure that the next generations of scientists are agile learners with the ability to embrace continuous learning. For older generations of science workers who may be feeling left behind, this is also an opportunity to re-address training and professional development, not only by large U.S. corporations, but as a function of public and private educational efforts and possible partnerships.

On the cusp of a new Congress and new administration in the White House, bigger and bolder pushes to advance science in areas like renewable energy, nutrition and the environment have even more potential for the larger societal good.

DSM is a science-based company and immensely proud of the work our scientists do, which makes the anti-science narrative especially troubling to us. We can’t just sit by and do nothing. Can you?

Hugh Welsh is president of DSM North America.

The views expressed by authors are their own and not the views of The Hill.