DISCLAIMER:
My opinions are my own, and the problems I present DO NOT ruin the game for me. I simply believe that a change could be made that would dramatically increase the interest of science. Also, I have only made a few PRs, so I am relatively inexperienced and cannot do this on my own.
Many of the ideas here are from Orange's antag freeze PR and the corresponding idea post (https://github.com/tgstation/tgstation/pull/46293). This post is a compilation of many ideas regarding science and how it could fairly easily be implemented WITHOUT needing to make entirely new systems.
The Problem:
By the end of the process, I believe there could be a well balanced and far more engaging/interesting science department that emphasizes skill, roleplay, and teamwork over arbitrary time-gates and patience.
TL,DR: Magic research point gain is uninteresting and non-immersive. Implement various opportunities for players to generate research by doing various science-y tasks.
Please feel free to suggest any further ideas or provide specific criticism. This change would be a pretty big deal if perused, so the more critique resolved here or on github the better.
Edit: If a PR comes up related to this thread or its ideas and hasn't been posted yet here, link it in the thread. If significant progress is being made, feel free to make a summary post of what has happened or is happening.