In turn, these data feed and are often best synthesized and interpreted by the long-term efforts of the small science community. In addition, because small science is typically done at universities, it provides students with an integral involvement in defining and solving scientific problems. Any erosion in Federal support for small science would therefore weaken not only the entire scientific enterprise, but also our future ability to utilize scientific information for the national good. A healthy balance between small science and large scientific data gathering programs should be a national strategic goal of the highest priority. The success of U.S. science in the twentieth century is due in large part to its diversity of scale and motive.
Important science is done both by individual investigators and by large data gathering efforts.
Research projects may be motivated by commercial interests, pressing societal problems, or the desire to understand nature. Such research is done by scientists in universities, government, and the private sector. Scientists in these same venues also carry out research designed to understand the history of the Earth and planets and the processes that affect them and their environment in space. It is the synergism between all types of research, large and small, basic and applied, which leads to scientific advances that are important to the economic future and well-being of society. Small science, much of which is carried out at universities, is especially well suited to student training.