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From curiosity to prosperity: sharing the gains of science

Why should governments back “Big Science” when discoveries are uncertain and the benefits may seem distant from taxpayers’ daily lives? In this public lecture, France A Córdova—astrophysicist and former Director of the US National Science Foundation, NASA Chief Scientist, and President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance—explores how curiosity-driven research and the large infrastructures that enable it deliver value well beyond the lab.
Why should governments back “Big Science” when discoveries are uncertain and the benefits may seem distant from taxpayers’ daily lives? In this public lecture, France A Córdova—astrophysicist and former Director of the US National Science Foundation, NASA Chief Scientist, and President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance—explores how curiosity-driven research and the large infrastructures that enable it deliver value well beyond the lab.
Monday 20 April 2026 | 1 hour 45 minutes 8 seconds
Download File | 144.42MB

Why should governments back “Big Science” when discoveries are uncertain and the benefits may seem distant from taxpayers’ daily lives? In this public lecture, France A Córdova—astrophysicist and former Director of the US National Science Foundation, NASA Chief Scientist, and President of the Science Philanthropy Alliance—explores how curiosity-driven research and the large infrastructures that enable it deliver value well beyond the lab.

Drawing on international experience, she will examine why these projects are often built through cross-border collaboration even as costs and operations are concentrated in particular places, and how this geography shapes debates about accountability, fairness, and who benefits.

The talk will consider practical ways to assess impacts beyond core science—from procurement and supply chains to knowledge spillovers, skills formation and entrepreneurship—and how public policy, partnerships and philanthropy can help measure and maximise that value locally and nationally.

Designed for a wide audience, the lecture addresses the central question facing science policy today: how to connect frontier discovery to broad societal benefit while maintaining the long-term ambition that keeps science moving forward.