Dissemination of Research Findings: What Role Can We Play?

Undoubtedly, those who do research in signal processing and many of us who use this powerful technology appreciate its importance and its huge impact on societal development. Signal processing has revolutionized numerous areas in the society in which we live today, and there is much more to come. Is this the view of any user of this technology? What about those young people who walk while wearing headphones, listening to music from their mobile device, or the elderly patient using hearing aids? Do they know what signal processing is and what role it plays in that device? The fundamental question that arises is to know whose role it is to inform the public about the research we conduct. The challenge facing politicians, as well as researchers, has always been to expand the frontiers of knowledge and to serve the community. There are research foundations worldwide, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), established in 1950, or the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, also known as DFG), established as the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft in 1920, that use public money to fund research and education in science and engineering. Most of us enjoy the generosity of these foundations that enable us to conduct cutting-edge research today. In addition to the regular programs of these foundations, there also exist special initiatives to support timely research. For example, the European Commission (EC) announced quite recently the funding of two large research projects, each amounting to €1 billion to conduct research in the human brain and graphene, respectively. I am confident that your reaction is or was similar to mine: what wonderful news! Maybe we need more of this! However, is this the reaction we would expect from any other individual from one of the users of the signal processing