University system in the US: fostering technological development and decision-making

This is the Labor Day weekend in the US, and everyone is on the highways here getting away for what is generally regarded as the last weekend of the summer. The travel-intensive population of the US is on the move to the beaches and other holiday spots by the millions. The drive up the East Coast to New Haven, Connecticut was slow and arduous, taking over 7 hours from Wilmington, Delaware. But, mercifully there was no mishap in my journey even though the highways had many speed fiends who zoomed along at 80 mph, changing lanes dangerously. Yale is a beautiful campus and has a stimulating atmosphere like most campuses in the US. The system of higher education in this country is the foundation of its economic and political muscle. The university system here has ensured the technological leadership of the US in many fields not only through a remarkable partnership between academia and industry but also through the infusion of high levels of intellectual inputs into government decision-making. Unfortunately, neither government nor academia in India have realized the value of similar inputs in our closed and insular system of policy- and decision-making. This is a major anomaly and shortcoming in an otherwise vibrant democratic system, which one hopes will be removed now that the public and our policy makers realize what, for instance, the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) system has done for the information technology revolution in the US and India. My arrival at Yale coincided with the ranking of Yale as the second best university in this country by the US News and World Report, which carries out this highly visible ranking exercise annually. This year, it has ranked Princeton at the top, followed by Yale and Harvard tied for the number two spot. It feels nice to be part of the faculty of such an institution for a semester.