“Can science itself tell us how twenty-first century science should be organized to accelerate its trajectory of profound insight into the structure of nature and technological transformation of society?”

This is the question at the heart of “The Science of Science,” which was selected as one of the top 100 entries in the NSF 2026 Idea Machine Competition. The proposal, submitted by John Drake, Eamon O’Dea, Ana Bento, and Pejman Rohani of the UGA Odum School of Ecology and Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, was one of approximately 800 received.

According to the NSF website,

In the summer of 2018, NSF invited the scientific community, industry, nonprofits, and the public at large to participate in the NSF 2026 Idea Machine, a competition to help set the U.S. agenda for fundamental research in science and engineering. The Idea Machine encouraged individuals from all walks of life, age 14 or older, to submit pressing “grand challenges” in fundamental research or STEM education that have potential for great impact. NSF received about 800 entries from nearly every state in the U.S.; from established researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, teachers on behalf of their classes, and even high school and middle school students.