Over a generation, it will certainly produce very important results for humankind. Research is the natural inclination of many of our faculty. But, of course, this strength sometimes means that many faculty aren't likely to work on what can be marketed a few years out. Nevertheless, we probably can continue to do basic research and still do more work on technology that can be commercialized. The distinction between basic and applied seems to be blurring somewhat.
More research is what is called strategically directed research.
In other words, the work is both fundamental as well as problem specific. Research on a certain disease is an example. We need to work at connecting university and industry more closely. There are some issues for both the university and the private sector, but we can do more. Michigan State, for example, has entered into an agreement with Dow Chemical to work on plants that might produce products that otherwise would come from petroleum.