“The thing that struck me the most when I arrived at MIT and it hits me every day is that the things that are happening here are amazing. Science, engineering … every day I hear something that makes my jaw drop,” commented President Sally Kornbluth during a live interview with Lizzie O’Leary of. slate’s “What’s Next: TBD” podcast.
Kornbluth talked about everything from the importance of curiosity-driven science and why basic science is important to our nation’s future, to AI and education, and even bravely joined O’Leary in a rendition of the Williams College anthem, “The Mountains,” in honor of their shared alma mater.
“We’re in a time of incredible uncertainty,” Kornbluth said of the current state of higher education and the funding of scientific research. “What we’re trying to do is keep the science strong.”
Looking back on his time at Duke and his love of college basketball, he noted that it’s a combination of zone defense and man-to-man defense when he tries to address skepticism about higher education in Washington, D.C. He emphasized: “As one of the top institutions in the world it’s part of our responsibility to show the value of science. Behind the scenes, I’m with many others – and many others.” [university] moderators – I’m in DC all the time now. I want to talk to Congressmen and women, Senators, people in the executive branch to explain the importance of what we are doing.”
Kornbluth emphasized that the pipeline of basic science flowing from US universities is an important asset to our country, warning that continuing to strain this pipeline could have serious consequences for the US down the line.
“If you think about the research done in this country, it’s done in universities, it’s done in national labs, it’s done in industries,” said Kornbluth. Universities are where most of science’s long, patient journey begins. He pointed out that cancer immunotherapy, which started 30-40 years ago in the basic research of immunotherapy, as an example. With that pipeline drained, what does the future hold for new cancer treatments or new AI and quantum technologies?
Kornbluth reiterated that the uncertainty and loss of funding “has a huge impact on the talent industry,” examining the unique role universities play in training graduate students, who are the next generation of scientific researchers. “We hear, ‘Oh, it would be good if research was more than industry.’ I say, ‘Can you fly a plane with a pilot who has never flown?’ How do they think people learn to do research? We are training the next generation… and we are losing money because of it.” He added: “I think we’re going to see volatility for decades if we don’t fix this issue.”
When asked how he and his colleagues work to keep research moving forward, Kornbluth explained that at MIT, “we’ve tried to find other ways to promote science. We have a series of presidential programs that cut across campus in things like health and life sciences, quantum, humanities and social sciences. The idea is that we’re trying to create new opportunities.”
Still, he acknowledged the loss of the endowment tax and cuts to federal funding hurt. “There are only four schools under the endowment tax of 8%, which is a tax on the money we receive. For us, that means 240 million dollars a year and some loss of grants. So, let’s say that everything is, we budgeted a loss of $ 300 million a year with a budget of $ 1.7 billion… That has an impact on us.
“Another thing is that there is all this uncertainty.
Asked why universities haven’t seen this opportunity, Kornbluth offered a few thoughts. “Look at MIT – 30,000 companies come from MIT. When you look at something like that, why would you think that any government that wants economic prosperity in its country would go after MIT?” he showed. “It wouldn’t have happened to us.”
Turning to the rapid development in AI, and how this field is impacting education, Kornbluth noted that at MIT and other universities, “we have to focus on the human condition, we have to teach our students, they need to be able to write and do math … they have to look at AI as a tool to increase their skills. That’s the way we think.”
During the interview, Kornbluth also expressed his unwavering support for international students, noting that most seek the opportunity to remain involved in US research after graduation. “The talent brought in through our international community is unbelievable. We can attract the best in the world. You can bet when they talk about competing with China, for example, in AI, quantum, etc., those sitting in China say, ‘Oh that’s great America is taking all our students.’ They think, ‘It’s good that America doesn’t want to take more of our students because we can train them.’ It’s a matter of competition that we really have to depend on.”
