A profile of Brazilian-born neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelisdiscusses his plans to build a network of scientific practice in Brazil: Convinced that science is a key capable of unlocking humanpotential well beyond the rigid hierarchies of academia—and outside thetraditional scientific bastions of North America and Europe—his other bigproject has been nothing less than a quest to transform the way research iscarried out in his native Brazil. In the process, he believes, science can alsoleverage economic and social transformation throughout the country. The heart of Nicolelis’s vision is a string of “sciencecities” built across Brazil’s poorest regions, each centered on a world-classresearch institute specializing in a different area of science or technology. Aweb of education and social programs would intimately involve surroundingcommunities with each institution while improving local infrastructure andquality of life. And the presence of these knowledge-based oases would spark aSilicon Valley–style clustering of commercial scientific enterprise aroundthem, jump-starting regional development. One of the most notable aspects of his vision is that itreaches down into primary education-- something that's very unusual for sciencecity projects that tend to focus on attracting major multinationals or luringin world-class researchers. In Nicolelis’s view, reaching children well before collegeage is crucial. He believes that science education strengthens criticalthinking skills in general, and he plans to use improvements in the children’sregular school performance as a benchmark for the effectiveness of thesupplementary classes at institute science schools. If some of the kids becomeinterested in pursuing science and technology careers, they will find plenty ofopportunities in the knowledge economy. “Ninety-nine percent of scientific workdoesn’t require a Ph.D.,” he insists.
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发表于 2012-11-2 18:46:46
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