Nobel laureate and ANU professor Brian Schmidt yesterday renewed his calls for smarter funding arrangements for science and research to help ensure Australia enjoyed its benefits.
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Professor Schmidt was part of a roundtable meeting at Government House to discuss capturing the benefits of research in Australia, chaired by Ken Henry and attended by leading scientists and economists from around the country.
Dr Henry is the head of the Australian National Institute of Public Policy.
''One of the big problems we have is we tend to spend money, then we switch programs, the money disappears and it comes back, it would be be much better to spend the money evenly over time, and I think everyone agrees on that,'' Professor Schmidt said. He added that when appropriate, scientists should also be encouraged to form partnerships with industry.
''I think there are some issues where people in universities are often … discouraged from working with industries, it hurts their publications, so I think we need to allow that,'' he said.
After the meeting, leading young scientists descended on Government House for afternoon tea with Governor-General Quentin Bryce and Professor Schmidt. They represented institutions including the ANU and CSIRO, and were studying in fields as diverse as molecular genetics and ocean modelling, and were all there to network and meet their high-profile hosts.
Professor Schmidt said a future Nobel prize winner could well be in the room.
''I was just like them 10 or 12 years ago, probably not as good as them, so I think it's important to get them to see I'm just like they were,'' he said.
