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6 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 131-136

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From page 131...
... These materials, in turn, will impact technologies that will further our nation's progress in areas such as energy independence, therapeutics and diagnostic tools, and devices for sensing biological and chemical threats. By pursuing the research outlined in this report, scientists are expected to gain a dramatically ­better understanding of basic principles underlying the complex emergent behavior of ­biological systems.
From page 132...
... For example, NSF and DOE do not support research that impacts mitigation of disease, which is viewed as the purview of the NIH. At the same time, the NIH often looks somewhat warily at research that includes a strong component rooted in the physical sciences.
From page 133...
... A knowledge-based economy will be important for the future in the United States, and interdisciplinary education will be one of the ­pillars supporting this enterprise. Recommendation 2: University physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, mathematics, and engineering departments and medical schools should jointly examine their curricula, identifying ways to prepare scientists and engineers for research at the intersection of the physical sciences, engineer ing, and the life sciences.
From page 134...
... Special attention should be given to finding ways of com municating fundamental physicochemical concepts to biologists using the mathematical knowledge common to the biology community. Such summer courses would help bridge the physical and life sciences communities, allow ing them to exploit research opportunities at the intersection of the fields.
From page 135...
... It is important to emphasize that the recommendation for increased support of the basic sciences does not imply there should be a lesser emphasis on applications -- basic and applied research are two sides of the same coin. The United States cannot afford to lag behind countries in Europe and Asia in applied research, and it can aim to continue to be the singular leader in paradigm-changing fundamental research.
From page 136...
... Now, however, national facilities that house clusters of small to midrange instru mentation and associated human expertise are beginning to provide this access. Recommendation 5: DOE should continue to evaluate the effectiveness of recently created facilities to provide access to midrange instrumentation and computational facilities for the advancement of interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and technology.


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