e/acc

Pasteur spent ~5 years (!) on the diseases of silk worms, in order to help the silk growers of France. It gave him key insights about the role of microbes in disease that ultimately led to the germ theory.

He didn't have to worry about how that would look on his CV. He didn't have an advisor tell him he was committing career suicide by going and working on practical problems for industry.

What academics could do this today?

Founder, The Roots of Progress (rootsofprogress.org). I write about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. Former tech founder.

Academics who worked in industry long enough to have a nest egg built that allows them to pursue bleeding edge research.

Sadly, frequently not possible.