Reinventing Science

A ground-breaking new agenda for science that overhauls the current system and its values—and replaces it with a path forward that benefits everyone.

Written by award-winning scientific leaders from historically marginalized sectors of race, gender, and class.

The scientific method is the best tool we have for understanding the natural world, and it is a stunning triumph of human history. But the scientific enterprise has had inequitable impacts. In Reinventing Science, Gilda Barabino, Joseph Graves, Jr., Maureen Kearney, and Shirley Malcom argue that our current scientific system has resulted in inequality across the board—from the practice of science to access to science to the applications of scientific advances for the betterment of society.

This book envisions a reinvented and modernized scientific enterprise that serves contemporary societal needs and further fulfills its promise for the future. The authors make the case for prioritizing a pro-social, values-based vision for science and science policy, particularly at a time when social inequality is exponentially rising, planetary health is rapidly declining, and our democratic systems are eroding. The book features:
A detailed chronicle of the 2025 assault on American science across federal agencies, academia, the scientific workforce, and scientific practices and norms An updated characterization of the US scientific workforce and why it matters to outcomes A clear analysis of the processes influencing translation of scientific knowledge into beneficial societal outcomes A call for the collective action necessary to improve science in order to save our future
Finally, the authors call for expanding the scientific workforce; changing the scientific workforce culture so that it can attract and protect historically underserved people into the disciplines; and changing how we evaluate scientific research agendas by re-tasking them to meet societal needs and human aspirations for knowledge and understanding.