Cultural heritage as a vehicle for basic research in computing science: Pasteur's quadrant and a use-inspired basic research agenda

Donald Stokes argued [Sto97] that for 50 years from the end of the Second World War to the end of the 20th century, there was an unhealthy taxonomy of research types which was formulated on a linear scale from pure to applied. The argument goes that the best research is only possible in environments which are free from contemplation of the potential uses to which results might be applied. In this paper, current research challenges in the application of ICTs to cultural heritage information are reviewed in order to consider where these applications-linked needs require solutions that will advance the understanding of computational principles and help to develop new basic understanding in computer science, including shape manipulation and other aspects of importance in computer graphics and virtual environments. The paper draws extensively on the recently published EPOCH research agenda [AG07] for illustrations of the types of research which are required for the Cultural Heritage sector and the relationship between these and basic research challenges in Computing Science.