The discovery of new knowledge is a rewarding event. For the
student engaged in a hands-on learning experience, the reward can be
personal growth and new confidence in his or her ability to reason
scientifically. For the researchers exploring the frontier of knowledge,
the reward can be the first glimpse at a new, unforeseen set of
mysteries. For the nation that supports the discovery process, the
reward can be a competitive edge in the global marketplace and the
resulting increase in its standard of living.
NSF support for scientific instrumentation helps bring these and other
rewards within reach. Until recently, scientists believed that light
microscopes could not distinguish features that were separated in
depth by less than one-half a micron (1/2,000th of a millimeter). The
study of living cells and their behavior has always been limited by
our ability to see the fine structures on their surfaces and inside them
because these structures were beyond the resolution power of
microscopes. Within the last 2 years, however, researchers at
Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Light Microscope Imaging
and Biotechnology have developed a new instrument called the
standing wave fluorescence microscope. This new microscope design
breaks through this barrier and provides 10 times the depth resolution
previously thought possible. NSF's support for instrument
development at this Science and Technology Center has enabled not
only the initial development of the new microscope but all the
discoveries that investigators will make using the microscope.
Each year NSF receives in excess of 30,000 competitive proposals for
support of research and education activities. Many of these proposals
include requests for instrumentation, and NSF has a history of
commitment to addressing these needs. Over the past decade, the
Foundation has annually invested approximately 10 percent of its
research and education funds in instrument development and
acquisition. In fiscal year 1993, this investment totaled nearly $220
million.
There are different levels of instrument need within the research
community. In order to support these opportunities proactively, the
Foundation has developed three different funding mechanisms. Small
requests of up to $20,000 are typically funded within a research
project award. Higher cost items ranging between $20,000 and
$100,000 are funded through dedicated instrumentation programs
within each disciplinary area. The most expensive instrumentation,
costing between $200,000 and $4 million, is funded through the
Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) Program, which
encompasses all research-related activities that NSF supports.
In fiscal year 1993, a little less than one-half of the Foundation's
$220 million support for instrumentation was handled through the
individual research project mechanism. Nearly $107 million was
awarded to researchers for small scientific instruments to enable their
NSF-funded research activity. However, many instruments are more
sophisticated -- and therefore more costly -- or are for use by a group
of investigators who have a common need. NSF's disciplinary areas
recognized this next level of need in the early 1980s and developed
dedicated instrumentation programs in response. There are now 15
such programs, representing virtually all of the disciplines supported
by the agency. Given NSF's emphasis on interdisciplinary research,
these programs have the flexibility to support instrument requests that
cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. These programs are an
important source of funds for the development or acquisition of
instruments valued between $20,000 and $100,000, and they provided
approximately $99 million to researchers in fiscal year 1993.
(Program information is listed on
Table 1.)
Recent experience has demonstrated that the cost of many of the
instruments required for the conduct of modern science has
accelerated beyond the resources of these disciplinary programs. In
recognition of this need, the Foundation developed the Academic
Research Infrastructure Program in 1992 for instruments costing in
excess of $200,000.
The Academic Research Infrastructure Program has a unique role in
supporting instrumentation needs of researchers and educators. The
effort was developed to help the research community acquire, through
purchase or development, major state-of-the-art instrumentation.
"Major" instruments, as defined by the program, fall within the
$200,000 to $4 million range. The Foundation promotes institutional
commitment to these projects in the form of cost sharing. Most host
institutions match NSF's investment in instrumentation with dollar-
for-dollar partnership. The program encourages proposals from all
types of institutions of higher education, independent nonprofit
research institutions, research museums, and consortia of these
entities.
The science and engineering community has responded
enthusiastically to ARI's instrumentation program. Although
institutions may submit only two proposals to the program each year,
more than 220 proposals were received in the first competition,
which was held in 1992. Sixty-six awards were made following this
competition. (See
Table 2
for a complete listing of these
awards.) The number of proposals submitted to the second
competition, held in 1994, doubled, reflecting total requests for $175
million in instrumentation.
In reviewing ARI instrumentation proposals, NSF seeks to support
projects with the highest level of technical excellence and the greatest
potential for enhancing and expanding research and training
opportunities. NSF staff also consider the degree to which the
proposed instrument will address research areas of strategic
importance to the nation, the instrument's potential for shared use,
and the geographic distribution of ARI Program funds. The selection
of proposals for support also reflects the commitment of the host
institutions and other partners to operating and maintaining the
instrument, an appropriate representation of non-Ph.D.-granting
institutions, and special efforts to increase the capabilities of colleges
and universities with high minority enrollments. The ARI Program
targets a minimum of 10 percent of its funds to minority institutions
and non-Ph.D.-granting institutions.
Instrument Acquisition
Private industry has responded to the needs of the science and
engineering community by manufacturing and marketing a wide array
of scientific instruments. Thus, many of the instruments needed for
research and research training are available as commercial products.
These off-the-shelf instruments can be single items or large systems
of instruments configured to address a family of projects. The
majority of proposals submitted to the ARI Program request support
for acquisition of instruments that are commercially available. These
instruments allow research and research training to make progress
efficiently, eliminating the need for every investigator to "reinvent
the wheel."
Instrument Development
Researchers and educators rely on commercially available
instruments, but their projects often explore an area to the point that
new instrument capabilities are needed if research progress is to
continue. To maximize these opportunities, NSF has designed the
ARI Program to encourage partnerships that lead to new commercial
products. Specifically, the ARI Program solicits joint proposals from
academic institutions and private industry aimed at designing,
developing, and testing new instruments that can potentially be
marketed and sold to other scientists. By taking this initiative, NSF
seeks to stimulate development of the next generation of scientific
instruments -- and, in the process, helps create new companies, new
products, and new high-quality jobs.
Institutional Commitment
As the primary steward for the health and vitality of science and
engineering in the United States, NSF relies on the active partnership
of the nation's colleges and universities. The commitment of each
host institution is essential if NSF's support for instrumentation is to
have the greatest possible impact. This institutional commitment
comes in many forms, and the Foundation takes a flexible approach
to encouraging active partnership with host institutions. Commitment
can be expressed through matching funds; support for instrument
installation and supplies; and underwriting the ongoing costs of
operations, staffing, and maintenance.
