Funding research and development is a smart investment many businesses can’t do without, and that’s why President Donald Trump shouldn’t cut back on federal research funding if he wants to run government like a business, two UO researchers say in a guest op-ed in The Oregonian.

Research Vice President David Conover and National Medal of Science recipient Geri Richmond, a UO chemistry professor, make the case that government-funded research is key to American prosperity. Without the kind of discoveries that come from university labs, the U.S. will lose it competitiveness, lose jobs and fall behind in the innovation race.

“If President Trump is serious about running government like a business, then robust investment in research and development must be a top priority,” Richmond and Conover write. “To accomplish Trump’s twin goals of stimulating economic growth and sustaining American superiority, we must increase federal funding for basic research.”

For the full article, see “Trump needs R&D to run government like a business” in the March 22 issue of The Oregonian/OregonLive.