Jerome Isaac Friedman

Jerome Isaac Friedman (born March 28, 1930) is an American physicist, who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work showing that protons had an internal structure, later known to be quarks.

"Will Innovation Flourish in the Future?," 2002
Jerome Friedman. "Will Innovation Flourish in the Future?," keynote address at a conference titled "Infrastructure for e-Business, e-Education, e-Science, and e-Medicine," L'Aquila, Italy, July 29-August 4, 2002.


 * Innovation is the key to the future, but basic research is the key to future innovation.


 * Creativity is the basis of all innovation, and although it is doubtful that it can be taught, creativity should be nurtured in those who have it.


 * Young people should be given good support and freedom in their research. They are the greatest source of scientific creativity because they are not as committed to existing scientific orthodoxy, and they have the energy and enthusiasm to push new ideas.


 * We should willingly take risks in supporting new projects. The tendency is to play it safe when funding is low, but we need to remember that the greatest risks have the greatest payoffs.


 * Excessive bureaucracy is distracting, time-consuming, and destructive to creativity.


 * It is clear to me that under the right conditions, future technologies will be created that we cannot even imagine.