What are the three most important things the next U.S. president needs to do for science? To cut through the jargon and find an answer, we bring you the DISCOVER Science Policy Project, in which we give a group of the country’s most celebrated scientists and thinkers the chance to state their views. All past responses can be found here. STEVEN NISSEN Cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, innovator
Restore funding at the National Institute of Health. For many years, the NIH budget has remained essentially flat. This means that, in inflation adjusted dollars, actual expenditures have decreased.
Avoid government intrusions on the academic independence of scientists.
NASA’s leading climate scientist, James E. Hansen, was repeatedly prevented from speaking out about the problem of global warming. Censorship for political purposes is antithetical to good science and must be scrupulously avoided in the new administration.
Consider major new initiatives to promote breakthrough advances in science and engineering, analogous to the current $10 million “X-prize” that will be awarded to the first team that demonstrates a practical automobile that can achieve 100 mpg.
