324 | Elizabeth Mynatt on Universities and the Importance of Basic Research

<p>It is not manifestly obvious that universities should be where most scholarly research is performed. One could imagine systems that separated out the tasks of "teaching students" and "generating new knowledge." But it turns out that combining them yields spectacular synergies, both from letting students experience cutting-edge research and from keeping researchers inspired by interacting with bright young minds. Today we talk to Elizabeth Mynatt, Dean of Computer Sciences at Northeastern, both about her own research in "human-centered computing," and about the bigger-picture issues of why basic research is important, and why universities are such good places to do it.</p><p>Blog post with transcript: <a href="https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/08/11/324-elizabeth-mynatt-on-universities-and-the-importance-of-basic-research/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025/08/11/324-elizabeth-mynatt-on-universities-and-the-imp...