The Impact of Big Science on the U.S. Economy

The era of Big Science began during World War II, with the push to develop nuclear weapons. At the war’s end, the facilities used to develop these weapons were transferred from the military to the new, civilian-operated Atomic Energy Commission. The commission’s charge was to operate the facilities as national labs. In time, the commission evolved into the Department of Energy. Today, the national labs are 17 interconnected research facilities with a network of researchers who use large-scale scientific instruments to tackle compelling problems in science, energy and security. The transference of innovation into practice has had economic impacts ranging from health care to housing, from information technology to manufacturing. Thom Mason, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest of the Department of Energy science and energy laboratories, discusses these impacts, and the prospect of even greater future economic benefits.