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The emergence of a recent literature (re)-discovering the importance of economic geography'might seem paradoxical in a world increasingly dominated by E-mail, faxes, and electronic communications superhigh-ways. Why should geographic proximity matter when technology has advanced in a manner that has drastically reduced the cost of transmitting information across geographic space? This paper explores why geography matters more in certain economic relationships than in others by focusing on the locational incidence of contacts between firms in the biotechnology industry and university-based scientists affiliated with these firms. In particular, we suggest that the specific role played by the scientist shapes the importance of geographic proximity in the firm-scientist link.