Question from floor: How does our funding system have to be changed in order to encourage a different kind of research that would stimulate creative initiative and not be this mainstream kind of research?

Hamfd Arastoopour: I'm kind of pressured to answer your question because we are heavily involved in research, not only compared to other departments at HT but among the top few chemical engineering departments in the nation. It is not easy at all. It's a very hard way to get money. The main problem is that the total amount of money dedicated to research and development in the sciences and engineering is very small, compared to expectations and developments. A second problem is that whatever system you develop will have several people to review. And always, where there are people involved, there are problems. For example, everybody wants to get big professors from famous universities so they are in the loop and can get better research, better money.

I believe the way to do a little better than this is, first, to increase the amount of money available for basic science and, second, fund some minimum amount of research for all faculty members. Give them a percentage to stand on their feet, so they can start fighting. Provided with that minimum opportunity, they could produce some results and get ahead. The biggest problem is the starting out. Put some money there.

Bob Filler: Would that we were back in 1960 as far as funding is concerned! But remember that before 1961, except for the Office of Naval Research, there was no government funding of research in this country. Then the NSF, the National Science Foundation, not as the congressmen call it, Non-Sufficient Funds, got $4 million. 1t didn't amount to much, but it's built up. Still, we cannot fund basic research exclusively through NSF It's not big enough. There isn't enough money. As Hamid Arastoopour pointed out, we've got to get out of the political soup of Washington.

Would that every state had the luxury of the State of Texas. You may not be aware that there is a Robert A. Welch Foundation in Texas. Virtually, every scientist, who is a professor in any university, public or private in Texas, when he walks in as an assistant professor, is given $20,000 to $50,000 for a year or two to start research. This can be continued. There are many research professors. If only outgoing Governor Thompson would provide the professors in Illinois with sums like that! But of course, that's a public thing. What we need are private sources of money, to get that seed money. Whether its $10,000 or $25,000 per professor (we don't look for $100,000) doesn't matter. But we've got to give professors a chance to start, to demonstrate the principles of the thing. The idea is that you have to be taken out of the government competition there.