Independent scientist
Anindependent scientist(historically also known asgentleman scientist) is afinancially independentscientistwho pursuesscientific studywithout direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-runresearch and developmentbody.
The term "gentleman scientist" arose in post-RenaissanceEurope,[1]but became less common in the 20th century as government and private funding increased.
Most independent scientists have at some point in their career been affiliated with some academic institution, such asCharles Darwin,who was affiliated with theGeological Society of London.
History
[edit]Self-funded scientists practiced more commonlyfrom the Renaissance until the late 19th century,including theVictorian era,especially inEngland,before large-scale government and corporate funding was available. Many early fellows of theRoyal SocietyinLondonwere independent scientists.
Modern
[edit]Modern-day independent scientists who fund their own research on an independent basis include, for example,Stephen Wolframwho funds his research through the sale ofMathematicasoftware,Julian Barbour,Aubrey de Grey,Barrington Moore,Susan Blackmore,[2]James Lovelock,[2]andJohn Wilkinsonwho funds his research on "molecular synergism in nature" by running a regulatory scientific consultancy in natural products.
Peter Rich said ofPeter D. Mitchell:"I think he would have found it difficult to have gotten funding because his ideas were rather radical."[3]Mitchell went on to win theNobel Prize in Chemistryin 1978. ChemistLuis Leloirfunded the research institute he headed, theInstitute for Biochemical Research,in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1970.[4]
There are today several virtual research institutes for independent scientists, including theRonin Institute,[5]theNational Coalition of Independent Scholars.[6]and the Canadian non-profit organization for scientific research OpenSci.World.[7]
Benefits and drawbacks
[edit]Self-funding has the disadvantage that funds may be more restricted and the advantage of eliminating a number of inconveniences such as teaching obligations, administrative duties, and writinggrantrequests to funding bodies. It also permits the scientist to have greater control over research directions, as funding bodies direct grants toward interests that may not coincide with that of the scientist. Furthermore, theintellectual propertyof the inventions belongs to the inventor and not the employer.
Modern science requires competence and may require access to scientific equipment. Independent scientists may have past careers asfunded scientists,cooperate with funded colleagues, obtain partial equipment-only grants, or choose directions where the most expensive resource required is the researcher's time. If the research succeeds, independent scientists may publish results in the samepeer-reviewed journalsas funded scientists do.
Scientists may choose to work on unusual projects with a high risk of failure also when the grant system does not fund them. A scientist could be attributed the status of an independent scientist if they work on such projects during a gap between two academic positions, for example.
Notable examples
[edit] |
- Mary Anning
- Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
- Aristotle
- Hertha Ayrton
- Charles Babbage
- Julian Barbour
- Robert Boyle
- James Braid
- Mark Catesby
- Henry Cavendish
- John Dalton
- Charles Darwin
- Christopher J. Date
- Robert C. Edgar[8]
- Albert Einstein
- Carlo Fornasini
- Benjamin Franklin
- Goldsworthy Gurney
- Oliver Heaviside
- Caroline Herschel
- Robert Kraichnan
- George Frederick Kunz
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Alfred Lee Loomis
- A. Garrett Lisi
- Ada Lovelace
- James Lovelock
- Gregor Mendel
- Isaac Newton
- Joseph Priestley
- David Rittenhouse
- David E. Shaw
- Alexander Shulgin
- Mary Somerville
- Henry Fox Talbot
- Nikola Tesla
- John Wilkinson (scientist)
- Stephen Wolfram
- Thomas Young
- Lord Salisbury
- Konstantin Eduardovitch Tsiolkovsky
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^J. C. Segen (1992).Dictionary of Modern Medicine.p. 246.ISBN1-85070-321-3
- ^abSusan Blackmore(Oct 24, 2008)."Solo Science: Tinkering Outside The Tower".More Intelligent Life. Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-07.Retrieved2012-06-01.
- ^Cohen (1998).
- ^"All Nobel Prizes in Chemistry".Nobelprize.org.Retrieved2012-06-01.
- ^Dance, Amber (2017-03-30). "Flexible working: Solo scientist".Nature.543(7647): 747–749.doi:10.1038/nj7647-747a.
- ^Wilson, Robin (2013-01-21)."Some Ph.D.'s Choose to Work Off the Grid".The Chronicle of Higher Education.Retrieved2021-03-21.
- ^"OpenSci.World - Affiliation for Scientific Research and Publishing".Retrieved2023-04-25.
- ^"Robert C. Edgar - Google Scholar Citations".Retrieved2 May2016.
Sources
[edit]- Martello, Robert (2000). "The Life and Times of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney: Gentleman Scientist and Inventor, 1793-1875 (review)".Victorian Studies.42(4): 688–90.doi:10.1353/vic.1999.0020.S2CID144758476.
- Porter, Dale H. (1988).The Life and Times of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, Gentleman Scientist and Inventor, 1793–1875.Lehigh University Press.ISBN978-0-934223-50-8.
- Cohen, J. (1998). "RESEARCH FUNDING: Scientists Who Fund Themselves".Science.279(5348): 178–81.Bibcode:1998Sci...279..178C.doi:10.1126/science.279.5348.178.PMID9446224.S2CID10232672.
- Keats, Jonathan (5 December 2007)."Craig Venter is the future".Salon.com.Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2008.
- Lonsdale, Jon (8 October 2019)."The Rise and Fall of the Gentleman Scientist".Medium.Retrieved15 January2023.
- Hessler, Angela (17 December 2021)."A path to independence".Science.374(6574): 1526.doi:10.1126/science.acx9813.PMID34914528.Retrieved14 January2023.
- Madsen, Andreas (9 October 2020)."Becoming an Independent Researcher and getting published in ICLR with spotlight".Medium.Retrieved14 January2023.
- Madsen, Andreas (23 February 2022)."9 months after my ICLR spotlight award, as an Independent Researcher".Medium.Retrieved14 January2023.
- Schweitzer, Andrea (8 April 2010)."The path less travelled".Nature.464(7290): 945.doi:10.1038/nj7290-945a.PMID20468078.
- Edwards, Rosalind (3 April 2022)."Why do academics do unfunded research? Resistance, compliance and identity in the UK neo-liberal university".Studies in Higher Education.47(4): 904–914.doi:10.1080/03075079.2020.1817891.S2CID225319404.