This fascinating book tells the history of the well known facility near Oslo in Norway. Dedicated to tackling scientific challenges of genuine social importance, the laboratory undertakes crucial research in networks, computing and software engineering.
When researchers gather around lunch tables, at conferences, or in bars, there are some topics that are more or less compulsory. The discussions are about the ho- less management of the university or the lab where they are working, the lack of funding for important research, politicians' inability to grasp the potential of a p- ticularly promising ?eld, and the endless series of committees that seem to produce very little progress. It is common to meet excellent researchers claiming that they have almost no time to do research because writing applications, lecturing, and - tending to committee work seem to take most of their time. Very few ever come into a position to do something about it. With Simula we have this chance. We were handed a considerable annual grant and more or less left to ourselves to do whatever we thought would produce the best possible results. We wanted to create a place where researchers could have the time and conditions necessary to re?ect over dif?cult problems, uninterrupted by mundane dif?culties; where doctoral students could be properly supervised and learn the craft of research in a well-organized and professional manner; and where entrepreneurs could ?nd professional support in developing their research-based - plications and innovations.
When researchers gather around lunch tables, at conferences, or in bars, there are some topics that are more or less compulsory. The discussions are about the ho- less management of the university or the lab where they are working, the lack of funding for important research, politicians' inability to grasp the potential of a p- ticularly promising ?eld, and the endless series of committees that seem to produce very little progress. It is common to meet excellent researchers claiming that they have almost no time to do research because writing applications, lecturing, and - tending to committee work seem to take most of their time. Very few ever come into a position to do something about it. With Simula we have this chance. We were handed a considerable annual grant and more or less left to ourselves to do whatever we thought would produce the best possible results. We wanted to create a place where researchers could have the time and conditions necessary to re?ect over dif?cult problems, uninterrupted by mundane dif?culties; where doctoral students could be properly supervised and learn the craft of research in a well-organized and professional manner; and where entrepreneurs could ?nd professional support in developing their research-based - plications and innovations.
From the reviews:
"This book describes the philosophy behind Simula Research Laboratory, how we have tried to implement it, and the results that have come out of it. ... Most of the book is intended for anyone interested in research, whereas some of the articles are written for experts interested in Simula's research subjects." (Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1181, 2010)
"This book describes the philosophy behind Simula Research Laboratory, how we have tried to implement it, and the results that have come out of it. ... Most of the book is intended for anyone interested in research, whereas some of the articles are written for experts interested in Simula's research subjects." (Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1181, 2010)