I don't read teddyh as saying that BI would lead to a boon in engineering research in particular. Rather, the example of the OP suggests that monetary incentive

I don't read teddyh as saying that BI would lead to a boon in engineering research in particular. Rather, the example of the OP suggests that monetary incentives and short-term performance monitoring are not the only way (or even a good way) to encourage creative, productive work.