Anindependent scientist (historically also known asgentleman scientist) is afinancially independentscientist who pursuesscientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-runresearch and development body.
The term "gentleman scientist" arose in post-RenaissanceEurope,[1] but became less common in the 20th century as government and private funding increased.
Most independent scientists have at some point in their career been affiliated with some academic institution, such asCharles Darwin, who was affiliated with theGeological Society of London.
Self-funded scientists practiced more commonlyfrom the Renaissance until the late 19th century, including theVictorian era, especially inEngland, before large-scale government and corporate funding was available. Many early fellows of theRoyal Society inLondon were independent scientists.
Modern-day independent scientists who fund their own research on an independent basis include, for example,Stephen Wolfram who funds his research through the sale ofMathematica software,Julian Barbour,Aubrey de Grey,Barrington Moore,Susan Blackmore,[2]James Lovelock,[2] andJohn Wilkinson who funds his research on "molecular synergism in nature" by running a regulatory scientific consultancy in natural products.
Peter Rich said ofPeter D. Mitchell: "I think he would have found it difficult to have gotten funding because his ideas were rather radical."[3] Mitchell went on to win theNobel Prize in Chemistry in 1978. ChemistLuis Leloir funded the research institute he headed, theInstitute for Biochemical Research, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1970.[4]
There are today several virtual research institutes for independent scientists, including theRonin Institute[5] and theNational Coalition of Independent Scholars.[6]
Self-funding has the disadvantage that funds may be more restricted and the advantage of eliminating a number of inconveniences such as teaching obligations, administrative duties, and writinggrant requests to funding bodies. It also permits the scientist to have greater control over research directions, as funding bodies direct grants toward interests that may not coincide with that of the scientist. Furthermore, theintellectual property of the inventions belongs to the inventor and not the employer.
Modern science requires competence and may require access to scientific equipment. Independent scientists may have past careers asfunded scientists, cooperate with funded colleagues, obtain partial equipment-only grants, or choose directions where the most expensive resource required is the researcher's time. If the research succeeds, independent scientists may publish results in the samepeer-reviewed journals as funded scientists do.
Scientists may choose to work on unusual projects with a high risk of failure also when the grant system does not fund them. A scientist could be attributed the status of an independent scientist if they work on such projects during a gap between two academic positions, for example.
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