Not to be a wise guy, but how did this study help our economy and/or strengthen our national security?
This particular study? I don't know offhand; I'm not in that field and don't have the familiarity required to properly answer your question. My comment was more about research in general than this particular study.
Aside: Who could have predicted that the American space program would launch a breakfast drink? (NASA didn't invent Tang, but made it famous, and its continued use by astronauts to this day has kept the product popular.). Of course, whether you consider Tang a benefit to our national security is a separate issue. :-)
You don't have a clue about how our technology developed, do you?