Much of the relevancy of science to man and to society arises by way of technology. Science and technology (S&T) complement each other via complex, two-way interaction. Science brings reason and enlightenment, and provides ideas for technological innovations, which improve the quality of life. Technology, in turn, provides science with new tools and instruments for doing research, for the storage and dissemination of information and for stimulation of further research. This organic process has led to fundamental scientific breakthroughs in the 20th century, which has unleashed a technological revolution of such unprecedented scope and power that today, for the first time in human history, we have the know-how to ensure that no human being is poor, uneducated and lacks the basic health care necessary to lead a decent life.
Unfortunately, these scientific inventions and technological advancements made no significant difference in the life of ordinary people in many third-world countries. In 1988, Nobel laureate Professor Abdus Salam, a physicist of Pakistani origin lamented: "This globe of ours is inhabited by two distinct types of human -- the haves who constitute one-fourth of the world's population but control 80% of its resources and the have nots -- the three-fourth, who share the remaining 20%."
The underlying reason for this inequity, according to Salam, is due to the widening gap in science and technology. In developed nations, the leading factors responsible for economic development are scientific knowledge, innovations and support from the government. Not surprisingly, the industrialised countries spend between 2 and 2.5% of their GDP on Research and Development (R&D), whereas most developing countries spend less than 0.5%. Israel is the highest in percentage of GDP -- 4.2% or $10.3 billion -- followed by Japan and South Korea who spend more than 3% of their GDP on R&D. As noted by Salam: "We suffer from a lack of ambition towards acquiring science, a feeling of inferiority towards it, bordering sometimes even on hostility."
Over the last few decades the world has seen a remarkable economic growth. With this growth, the need and opportunity for new research has also grown by leaps and bounds. Some of this is fundamental, some applied and much of it is interdisciplinary. The East Asian countries have embraced Western methods to rapidly transform themselves into economic powerhouses. India will soon join them. These countries and Brazil are now an integral part of big science globally. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is far behind. Still, thanks to the unparalleled technological advances of the last two decades, there is a window of opportunity for Bangladesh to develop an infrastructure for scientific research and technological development. If successful, it will open a path to rapid economic and social development.
Technological breakthroughs have opened up entirely new areas of scientific research that did not exist even 30 years ago. For example, in the yesteryears, to discover a new material, say a semiconductor, one had to chemically prepare many such materials and analyse their properties in a laboratory and determine whether the material has the required properties. This hit and miss technique is limited in scope, expensive and time consuming, particularly when the underlying structure is complex.
Today, many such experiments are actually done using a computer -- i.e., researchers create actual computer models of atoms arranged in various types of crystals and analyse them theoretically to see whether the materials have the requisite properties. Once a material is discovered in this way, experimentalists would then fabricate it in the laboratory.
Research based on computer modeling and simulation is today an integral part of scientific innovation and growing rapidly not only in physics and chemistry, but also in biology, geology and medicine. Computer modeling is also making it possible to discover new medicines and novel surgical procedures. Computer simulation is helping us in understanding the physics and chemistry of human genes one by one.
New technologies have now made it possible to explore the deepest mysteries of the universe by mapping out galactic structure, looking for planets in faraway stars, looking for dark matter by large Earth and space-based telescopes. Experiments to look for the Higgs boson, which holds the key to the structure of elementary particles, are being done using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. Thousands of scientists from all over the world, developed and some underdeveloped nations, but not Bangladesh, are involved in this endeavour. In both cases, much of the scientific work consists of analysing the mountain of data generated in the experiments. The analysis is carried out in the scientists' own institutions using computer networks; no expensive laboratory is needed.
It is clear from these examples that carrying out scientific research today, even experimental, does not always involve setting up and maintaining expensive laboratories. Often, one needs computers and necessary software, but mostly a pool of dedicated and brainy people. It is also apparent that the exigent need for large scale experiment or research is collaboration between different nations, developed and developing. It is a win-win situation for the developing nations.
One could now ask the question: Why are Bangladeshi scientists and teachers not coming up with any new ideas or commendable innovations? Is it due to lack of knowledge or shortage of meritorious students, teachers and scientists? The raw material for knowledge is brains, and nature is not partial in this regard. Bangladesh has plenty of it. After all, many scientists born and educated in Bangladesh but living in North America and Europe have contributed and are still contributing significantly to the advancement of S&T.
The problem is structural. The institutional structure and government support needed to build and sustain world-class research capability does not yet exist in Bangladesh. In this respect Bangladesh is not alone. Most erstwhile colonies have very little participation in the world of scientific research. There has to be a realisation that a nation cannot move forward without first-rate science, because the tools needed for progress depend on S&T. Hence, it is imperative for Bangladesh to train its citizens -- students, researchers and technicians -- to build these tools.
Is it possible to build an infrastructure that will support meaningful research in Bangladesh? The answer is an emphatic yes. The issue is not whether world-class scientific research can be done in Bangladesh. The key issue is how it should be done. Some would argue why waste money and resources on high level science in such a poor country? Should we not instead concentrate on providing education to the poor? If any research is to be done, shouldn't it be confined to the area of agriculture, or perhaps public health, where it can affect the livelihood of the poor masses?
Obviously, the primary policy objectives of Bangladesh should be to eradicate poverty and provide the citizens with the basic necessities of life -- food, shelter, education and healthcare. But this cannot be done by providing incremental improvement in their daily lives, which will keep them permanently poor. These can be achieved by strengthening the research capabilities of the nation.
Bangladesh needs S&T not simply to boost its pride. It is the primary means for economic and social development of the country. As Bangladesh is the most densely populated country with no natural resources or industrial base, dependence on an agricultural economy for development is not the right formula for economic growth. There has to be a realisation that the East Asian model of rapid development by manufacturing and selling consumer goods to Western nations is not the panacea to the myriad of problems Bangladesh is faced with. It will simply make the rich richer, but leave the poor where they are. The path to salvation is investment in science and technology.
"The time has come when scientific truth must cease to be the property of the few, when it must be woven into the common life of the world, for we have reached the point when the results of science touch the very problem of existence," -- Louis Agassiz, Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist and geologist.

The writers are Professor of Physics, Fordham University, New York and Professor of Physics, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, respectively.