Making Research Pay

The Faculty this week began a debate that will go on for a long, long time.

At its first meeting of the year, the Faculty took up the issue of what role the University should play in the commercial development of scientific discoveries made at Harvard.

Introducing the topic, President Bok said Harvard's participation in the process--labelled "technology transfer"--could be "a possible way of increasing funds available to the University--provided we can do so in a manner consistent with our academic purposes and goals."

Dean Rosovsky agreed that the University "would be wise" to continue looking into the issue partly because of the Faculty's money troubles. "There's no doubt of the need of the Faculty to develop alternative sources of income," he added.

But Rosovsky cautioned that developing scientific discoveries for commercial use "is not simple; it is very messy. It presents dangers."

Most professors who spoke at the meeting expressed general agreement with the tone of a discussion memorandum prepared by Bok's office and distributed to the faculty. The memo pointed out advantages and dangers of the University's becoming more actively involved in technology transfer, but took a cautiously favorable attitude toward the idea.

Some Faculty members, however, stated their concern over problems not addressed in the memo. Otto T. Solbrig, professor of Biology, who was out of the country, said in a letter read to the Faculty by Dudley R. Her-schbach, Baird Jr. Professor of Science, that he saw several areas of concern:

*effects on professors' relationship with students, especially at the graduate level, where researchers might pressure their grad students to write commercially rather than academically beneficial theses;

*reduction in communication among competing scientists, possibly within the same department;

*division of resources among competing researchers;

*and questions that might arise regarding the University's position as an investor in firms taking part in genetic research and development.

Rosovsky said he thought the technology transfer question gave the Faculty an opportunity to review its "entire relationship with the outside world." He noted that "in the absence of any guidelines or expression of will by the Faculty, anything goes" for professors who want to work outside Harvard.