The list of inventions that came out of Bell Labs is breathtaking: solar cells, information theory, the first transistor, the first MOSFET, the laser, CCDs, UNIX, and many more. Silicon Valley was essentially founded by William Shockley, one of the inventors of the transistor at Bell Labs.
At Bell Labs the absolute best scientists could come together and just work, without having to deal with writing grant applications, teaching courses, or mentoring grad students (the three activities which now consume the vast majority of an academic researcher's time).
I am convinced that if Bell Labs was as strong today as it was 50 years ago, we'd have kilo-core microprocessors (and know how to program them), all our genomes would be sequenced already, and we'd all be driving electric cars recharged by ultra-efficient solar power stations. Or rather they'd be driving themselves. Maybe Google can help get us back on track.
At Bell Labs the absolute best scientists could come together and just work, without having to deal with writing grant applications, teaching courses, or mentoring grad students (the three activities which now consume the vast majority of an academic researcher's time).
I am convinced that if Bell Labs was as strong today as it was 50 years ago, we'd have kilo-core microprocessors (and know how to program them), all our genomes would be sequenced already, and we'd all be driving electric cars recharged by ultra-efficient solar power stations. Or rather they'd be driving themselves. Maybe Google can help get us back on track.