I personally am interested in research that would be beneficial in the present. I agree that most researchers probably do not go into this with a set timeline such as if it is for the present or future. I do think that some research is more doable now than others which may need more advance technology.

I understand that research done for future use is significant for our knowledge and could also possibly help solve present problems. The issue I have with this is that funding for research is very limited. I think the people who's research is geared towards solving problems now should be prioritized and given the grant money.

Jz365, I agree with you that a majority of the research should be for the current gen. But while future research may be theoretical, what if that research ties back to current research?

A hypothetical example, if a drug that can reduce the effect of Alzheimer's is introduced into the mark. The current side effects from the research is minimal but let's say a separate study on one of the ingredients of the drug shows that it causes cancer in 7/10 patients. Should the research of the combined effects of the Alzheimer's drug not be pursued because it has use on the now?

Future research may not only be for future value but may also be to mitigate current risks so it's an idea that should be in the researchers' minds.

Will I think both of industrial and academia are important at the same time. We need current improvements and quick outcome to help in current time, as well as we need new discoveries and inventions to keep up with the new disease's outcome. If no one starts researches of the previous generation, we would not get where we are right now of all great inventions in all the industries. So, I believe it is our responsibility to continue off the improvement of our generation as all of us mentioned that's what is industrial is focusing on. However, we need to support long-term researchers not only for the next generations but as I think it helps the cycle of development in general.

To me, both types of research are important, but my personal interest is to see results right away. I had previous experience doing research in the academic field, and even though I liked it, sometimes I found myself to be stressed about results taking a long time, or that they did not take me a meaningful conclusion. It is necessary to keep both types of research going on, but for me, I would like to stay in the industry, as I like to keep focus and like to have specific timelines.

While both industry research and academia research are important and necessary, I want my work to have an immediate impact, just like many of those who posted above. When it comes to academia research, there is always the risk that whatever you were researching becomes irrelevant if the hypothesis is proved wrong. With industry, the immediate results indicate that all the time that was spent researching and designing the product was not time that was wasted. In the end, industry research can always be improved upon as well, just like academia research. To put it into better words, when I spend 8 hours a day for weeks or months on end I would rather see an immediate impact from all my hard work rather than hit a dead end and realize while all that time researching may have helped me grow my knowledge personally it did not help the world advance in any way. The trade-off between these two is that when academia research does succeed, it helps the world advance through leaps and bounds while successful industry research usually only advances the world a little bit at a time. For me, it's like climbing a rock wall: It's better to make small moves and guarantee progress towards the top rather than overreach, fall, and start back at the bottom.

In any field, research is significantly important whether it is being done in industry or academic. There are benefits to both types of research in industry and academia. When we succeed in doing the research, we expect the results are to be used somewhat in the present time. However, doing research in a field like biomedical, discoveries are continuously changing. Therefore, I think expecting results to be seen and used to help in the industry in our lifetime is what I would like to work towards. Academic is important as well, but you get to learn and understand how research is done and during academic you are exposed to a field that you are interested in researching in detail in coming future. So for me, I feel like academic research is preparing you for further research where you want to work and research further in the industry.

Obviously, a lot of people are saying they would prefer to conduct research which they will see implemented in their lifetime, if not within a decade or so. This is known as instant gratification and is the enemy to long-term innovation. Industry will only really engage in projects which impose a certain need or problem for a business and require a solution right now. This is fine most of the time but does not actively set out to solve problems before they possibly become a crisis and it's too late to save a certain live or something. It takes a certain restraint to choose the other path but it is necessary if we are to tackle certain issues. Researchers who plan for the future are more concerned with the long-term goals of our species. In this respect the scope of the project is much larger in that it has the potential to reach a lot more people. It is about exploring possible alternatives, not satisfying a business function which is only seen as a cash cow. Both academic and industrial research are both important and investment needs to be poured into both so that both short and long-term goals can be achieved.

Question: Would you rather do research that would result in making discoveries to help future generations or the current generation, and why? Which do you think is more important?

In response to this question, I believe that both should be done, yet I think research should be geared more towards improving the current generation than the future. I feel that most of the research that is being done nowadays is done based on prevalent issues that people are dealing with. The more research that is being done to resolve our current issues, is technically, resolving our future issues, which is why I believe that research should be done to help the current generation in both academia and industry.

Although I believe that both types of research are equally important, I believe that doing research that will lead to an immediate result is better because you need to make sure that your investments pay off. Doing research that is meant to benefit later on is somewhat risky because, as time goes on, some things can change like you may not get enough funding or some of your employees or co-workers won't be able to help you with your research. Focusing on research that will lead to a product/service that will benefit your generation is practical and more important because it will yield results that will hopeful keep you going. Ultimately, it's important for you to make sure that you can deliver profits so focusing on areas that will take less time is more beneficial.

I would want to do research that benefits society sooner rather than later. However I think the research the lays the groundwork is more important. In academia, the research conducted often has similarities with research that had already been conducted. The small differences are in the approach, comparisons, duration etc. This kind of research is what provides so much information for everyone to build upon.

Research is always important no matter if it is in Industry or Academia. As Dr. Simon mentioned research in Industry is usually to create a solution to a problem while Academia researches tend to focus on understanding the problem, study various aspects of approaches to investigate the problems and perhaps solve the problem or at least provide prospective methods of solving it. Ultimately it depends on what is truly appealing to me. Although it would be appealing to witness a product mine of being commercialized, I actually preferred the groundbreaking research that Academia provides. I guess people in Academia research don't value fast commercialization of their idea as much as they value the prosperity of the usefulness of the content of their results. This is plausibly one of the reasons why Academia research tend to attract financial driven people. Unless you make to the top and won the Nobel prize, your researches are more likely not be attract any substantial financial benefit. However, there is a sense of pride that comes with knowing that results of your researches might a serve a greater good.

Personally, I believe researching for the current generation allows the future population to have a basis of technology and research to base their study off of. Me personally I can't try to combat a problem I have no idea if it will exist. There are people now who benefit from research and can cure ailments that are effecting then currently. Making industry research my more preferred field.

While I agree that both kinds of research are important, I like that research in industry is applied to a real product faster. I currently do research in academia while I complete my MS in biomedical engineering, and it feels good knowing that my research will one day be of use to someone. However, I am starting to imagine that if I work in industry "one day" will actually have a date, as these things are planned better in industry. Also, the fact that instead of devoting 10 years to a project to be able to help people, in industry research goes much faster, excites me. I hope to be involved in the process of clinical research for a company where I know my hard work will be of use to more people, as typically academic research lays ground for biomedical companies to take the wheel and make a product out of it. 

In my view Research is important in our life because it provide information that allows us to make informed decisions. Research develops and attitude to not believe everything easily available and go on one track. It helps us to understanding various issues of life . Also we need to do a research for the future because we never know what is going to turn out to be important.

There is a difference between the expected timeline for the work being done in academia vs industry to create real results. Much of the work done in academia, because it is late-breaking research, and always on the cutting edge, takes a long time to develop and complete. Due to this, like said before me, many projects are passed on from one person to another, throughout years and even decades. That being said, on the other side, in industry, the work is faced paced. Most of the time there are many products with strict timelines because everything is motivated by money. In industry, much of the projects worked on are quickly put to market, commercialized, and create results in the medical device world. Personally, I like the fast-paced timeline, and rapid results seen by working in industry, but both fields have their pros and cons.