As the global economy undergoes structural change, short-term turbulence can obscure the deeper drivers of progress: where growth ultimately comes from, how productivity is built over time, and how prosperity is sustained. At the foundation, it is often fundamental science—and the ideas it generates—that acts as the decisive force shaping technological change, institutions, and economic trajectories. In this session, leading thinkers in economics and physics will examine how basic research becomes long-term advantage, and how policy, incentives, and expectations determine the real impact of innovation. A bigger question is what it takes for science to remain verifiable, trusted, and able to serve as a durable public foundation for progress.