With increasing environmental degradation, dwindling resources, and heightened public awareness, the demand for sustainable technological solutions is more urgent than ever. However, a significant hurdle remains due to the dearth of technologies that are capable of outcompeting less sustainable but more efficient, established alternatives, at least in the short term. Given that novel technologies fundamentally depend on scientific breakthroughs, it raises a question that is critical to our future: How does the demand for certain technologies shape the trajectory of science? The main argument in this article is that this demand for technologies not only shapes current science but that it also pulls into relevance existing formerly neglected science. Evidence from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina lends support to this argument. The main theoretical contribution of this article is to highlight the need to distinguish demand driven technological emergence from the traditional linear models of technology evolution that begin with and are driven by the supply of exogeneous scientific breakthroughs.
