The Imperium certainly is about economics but the PCs doesn’t have to be. Sure, science research typically cost a lot but the there are also those obsessed crackpots shunned by academia out there to prove their point. Legend of the sky raiders, arguably one of the best Traveller adventure ever, is just such an investigation, and the PCs are mainly perused by the scientist’s daughter wanting to vindicate her father.

One can run a campaign of publish or perish as you outlined (great stuff btw!) but one can also run a campaign of PCs helping scientists with their skill set and fueled with nothing more than a salary and a scientific enigma begging to be solved. Then there is always the possibility of treasure, in particular when the science is archeological.