Accidental Discoveries During Academic Research Have Changed the World

8/12/2019 Accidental Discoveries During Academic Research Have Changed the World

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Accidental discoveries during academic research have changed the world. AAP/Leon Neal

Foundation essay If we knew what it was we weredoing, it wouldnt be called research, would it?

While slightly flippant, this comment by AlbertEinstein captures the unpredictability of researchbeautifully. There are many examples of this.A mathematical approach which was first applied tousing radio-telescopes to search for exploding blackholes turned out to be fundamental to solving thewireless networking multipath problem.

That, in turn, led to CSIROs patented technologythat underpins many of todays high speed wirelesslocal area networks and inspired countlessadditional innovations and improvements to our wayof life.

Breakthroughs in linguistics from UTS and otherinstitutions allowed improved communicationbetween hospital medical practitioners culminating insignificantly improved patient outcomes.

Professor Hung Nguyen, Dean of Engineering andInformation Technology at UTS, initially designedrobots to play chess. After recognising the linksbetween the artificial intelligence of robotics andneuroscience, he went on to focus one area of hisresearch to utilise robotics for people with severe


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disabilities. That resulted in the development of thethought controlled wheelchair.

Significant breakthroughs such as these take a longtime to develop, and there is a media friendlyoutcome at the end, making them an easy story totell.

But for the full benefit of research to be achieved, itis critical that the outcomes of current research and

the latest thinking are made accessible to thegeneral public. And that means publishing not onlytraditional journal papers, conference presentationsand books, but beyond.

The more obvious facets of research - the latest inhealth and medical breakthroughs or must havegadgets, already shape the way we live.

However we sometimes forget the significance ofresearch outcomes that enable our everydaydecision making. They provide robust input to ouropinions, or help foster an engaged community andshape public consciousness.

Research has the ability to provoke debate aroundsome of the major global issues we are facingandin turn support fact-based government policy.

The case for communicating research is clear.


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At one level it can help us make day to daydecisions. Research conducted by UTSs Faculty ofNursing, Midwifery and Health revealed that if

people suffering chest pains delay going to ahospital by just 15 minutes it significantly increasesthe chance of death.

And a novel IT approach is trialling the real timetracking of Sydney buses beamed directly to oursmart phones.

Timely and public communication of research alsoprovides the robust information and necessaryevidence base which shapes critical policydecisions, industry investment choices or influencescommunity groups.

Research outlining societys views towards toleranceand diversity provided the backbone for a recentsession held in parliament on cosmopolitan and civilsociety.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of research is itspotential to act as a catalyst to stimulate and supportpublic debate.

Climate change is undoubtedly one of the mostchallenging issues facing society today. The broad,accessible dissemination of the underpinningscientific evidence and potential solutions is


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fundamental to determining our response as acountry.

Similarly, the latest research from the GlobalPhosphorus Network raises new issues such as thecritical nature of the declining phosphorus stocks,and the implications for world food supply. Its anissue which has not yet seriously appeared on anygovernments radar, but it should.

The nature of research and how it can be utilised ischanging. Multidisciplinary and left field approachesare unquestionably the future trend for research.This is complemented by the breadth and diversityof new and digital media.

Research findings are now much more accessible tospecialists in other fields. Industry and communitymembers, too, can add to or use the originalresearch in ways undreamt of by the researchers.

Take malaria. It threatens half the worlds population- over 230 million cases are reported each year. Amuch wider audience was exposed to a potentiallycritical breakthrough when the Walter and Eliza Hallinstitute and UTSs i3 Institute published the firstpictures of the malaria parasite in more accessiblemedia channels, as well as academic literature. Thiscould lead to innovative solutions to malaria being


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put forward from sectors of society completelyunrelated to mainstream malaria research.

With these significant potential benefits, manyuniversities and academics are putting significanttime and effort in to broader engagement andattempts to engage the public consciousness.

There is a recognition by a number of us in thesector that were on a journey. Our efforts to support

energetic media offices, proactive academics, andthe adoption of new media channels is just the start.We are also increasing direct engagement withgovernment and growing industry promotingprograms such as public seminar series.

What are the challenges to more accessibleresearch communication? Ironically it is often thepressure we put on our own academics. To besuccessful as academics we need to write for acritical academic community and contain theoreticalconstructs and abstraction which can, at times,present an impenetrable barrier to the nonacademic. Not just in terms of language, but also

relevance.

The late Glenda Adams, an author and former UTSwriting teacher, describes this beautifully in an essayin The Australian Author published shortly after her


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death in 2007. I sometimes feel that universitieshave placed a large pot of abstract nouns at theirgates and to enter we must dip into the pot and take

three abstract nouns and make something of them,she wrote.

Allowing academics the time to reframe theirresearch to focus on the issues and outcomes whichare relevant to a non-academic audience will allowgreater accessibility.

The sheer amount of information generated duringeven one research project, which can run to manypublications, conference papers and more, is alsoan intimidating barrier to even the most inquisitivecitizen.

It is clear, quite rightly, that we are entering a periodwith increased emphasis on the demonstration ofvalue for money of publically funded research.

The results of the first round of Excellence forResearch Australia have recently been published.While very thorough, this exercise focusednecessarily on elements including publications andcitations which are essentially meaningless to thegeneral public and was unable to include broadermetrics on the impact of research on society.


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Essentially, we have a dichotomy set up whichneeds to be carefully managed. We need to balancethe drive towards a focused definition of quality

which will direct funding, against the need to ensurethat our publically funded research has the broadestpossible impact in society.

The mainstream media have an important role incommunicating research outcomes, and providinginformed rather than sensational commentary on the

issues that affect society. I believe that this is still nothappening enough. There is sometimes anassumption (an incorrect one) that the general publicdoes not want, or cannot cope with a complex,knowledgeable debate.

I believe that universities and researchers have a

vital role to play in stimulating relevant, evidencedbased discussion as part of their research activities.

Research is always outward looking, driven by adesire to change and improve the world around us.

At UTS we are committed to producing researchsolutions that tackles national and internationalchallenges, and of course communicating theseoutcomes.


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Our researchers are looking forward to joining TheConversation to share their insights and researchfindings within this new community.

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Accidental Discoveries During Academic Research Have Changed the World