It is pretty much a one-way street. While it may be common for university researchers to try their luck in the commercial world, there is very little traffic in the opposite direction. Pay has always been the biggest deterrent, as people with families often feel they cannot afford the drop in salary they would normally experience when moving to a university job -although this pay gap is starting to shrink. For some industrial scientists, however, the attractions of academia outweigh any financial considerations. New Scientist asked a selection of these researchers why they made the move, and what they have learned.
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