Conducting research in academia is very different from industry but both have some striking similarities depending on the circumstances. For example, academia research is heavily supported by contracts and grants. Professors must apply for grants from various places NSF, NIH, DoD, DOE, etc. to obtain funding. Academia research is sometimes laid back depending on the professor you work under. From my experience, professors tend to be very distant from the students also and expect a lot from them similar to industry research. Industry research however, is funded by the company and or collaboration with other companies. Collaborations exist both in industry and academia research but the difference is the personnel and expertise. In industry, it is much easier to obtain top of the line expertise with money and recognition as opposed to academia. It is possible in academia but it takes established reputation to allow one to do so.