What is science? How is it performed? Is science only a method or is it also an institution? These are questions at the core of Managing Science, a handbook on how scientific research is conducted and its results disseminated. Knowledge creation occurs through scientific research in universities, industrial laboratories, and government agencies. Any knowledge management system needs to promote effective research processes to foster innovation, and, ultimately, to channel that innovation into economic competitiveness and wealth. However, science is a complicated topic. It includes both methodological aspects and organizational aspects, which have traditionally been discussed in isolation from each other. In Managing Science, Frederick Betz presents a holistic approach to science, incorporating both philosophical and practical elements, in a framework that integrates scientific method, content, administration and application. Illustrating all of the key concepts with illustrative case studies (both historical and contemporary, and from a wide spectrum of fields), Betz provides in-depth discussion of the process of science. He addresses the social, organizational, institutional, and infrastructural context through which research projects are designed and their results applied, along the path from experimentation to innovation to commercialization of new products, services, and processes. This practical approach to science is the foundation of today's knowledge-intensive and technology-enabled industries, and positions the management of science within the broader context of knowledge management and its implications for organizations, industries, and regional and national technology management policies. Managing Science will be an essential resource for students in all areas of research, industry scientists and R&D specialists, policymakers and university administrators, and anyone concerned with the application of research to economic growth and development.
About the Author: Frederick Betz is a Visiting Professor, Nile University, Cairo, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Engineering and Technology, Portland State University. In 2007-8 he was a Visiting Scientist on the Science and Technology Research Council, Turkey, and from 1998 to 2005, he served as a Professor in the Graduate School of Management and Technology Management at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). He has published 5 books, including Managing Technological Innovation (Wiley, 2/e, 2004), Executive Strategy (Wiley, 2002), and Strategic Technology Management (McGraw-Hill). He has published numerous scholarly articles in such journals as Journal of Technology Transfer, Technology Management, and International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management.