Partnerships in Service to Society - 1994-95 Annual Report
Transmittal
The President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr President:
I am pleased to transmit the Annual Report for Fiscal Years 1994-1995 of the National Science Foundation, for submission to the Congress as required by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950.
Sincerely,
Neal Lane
Director
A Message From NSF Director Neal Lane
On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the National Science Foundation, we look with pride at the variety of contributions the Foundation has made and continues to make in every facet of the natural and social sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Over the last several years, we have seen astonishing advances in some long-standing NSF projects. One example is the Internet, which grew out of experimental networks funded by NSF and other federal agencies, and now attracts the interest and excitement of millions of new users. Another example is biotechnology, especially the recent major advances in the mapping of plant genomes, that will lead to the creation of larger, healthier, and more nutritious agricultural products.
In last year's Annual Report message, I described some of the ways in which NSF is moving beyond business as usual, in response to changes in society's rationale for investment in science and engineering. One of these ways, as outlined in the White House report, Science in the National Interest, is to stimulate partnerships among government, universities, and industry that promote investment in fundamental research and education.
This year, I am expanding upon that theme in recognition of the enormous benefits that NSF's partnerships have yielded since the Foundation's inception in 1950. These partnerships are an integral part of NSF's strategic plan, NSF in a Changing World, our blueprint for succeeding in the current era of increasing expectations and tightening budgets. In the plan, we outlined the following goals:
- First, enable the United States to uphold a position of world leadership in all aspects of science, mathematics, and engineering;
- Second, promote the discovery, integration, dissemination, and employment of new knowledge in service to society; and
- Third, achieve excellence in U.S. science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education at all levels.
We recognize that NSF cannot attain any of these goals single-handedly. Rather, we see NSF as playing a catalytic role-working in concert with partners in every sector of society to provide the tools, the programs, and the funding to make these goals a reality.
NSF's partnerships include collaborative efforts with the academic community, with industry, with elementary and secondary schools, with state and local governments, with other federal agencies, and with nations and international bodies. Partnerships are perhaps most effective when the partners bring distinct capabilities and expertise to the table, so that they can do together what cannot be accomplished alone. The forms that these collaborations take can range from funding individual research projects to multidisciplinary centers.
Achievements at the cutting edge
Small and individual research efforts are the fundamental unit of cutting-edge science and the backbone of NSF's mission. From nucleic acids to hurricanes, the emphasis of over 100,000 students, teachers, and researchers supported by NSF each year is on understanding how the world works and furthering scientific knowledge. Examples abound. Stanley Williams from Arizona State University helped design an NSF-funded aircraft instrument that measures the chemical composition of volcanos, in an effort to understand the conditions that lead to volcanic eruptions. Rola Idriss of New Mexico State University, the 1994 winner of a five-year NSF Young Investigator Award, focused her research on non-destructive ways of detecting early signs of structural danger to highway bridges that often are missed in visual inspections. NSF grantees Charles Peskin and David McQueen of New York University created the first computer model of a human heart that is realistic enough to be used in research in place of an actual human heart.
NSF has a long tradition of partnerships with other federal agencies. For example, UNOLS, an academic research fleet of 27 ships, is a nationwide resource for oceanographic research. UNOLS (the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System) has been jointly funded with the Office of Naval Research for two decades; other agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Geological Survey, have participated at various periods as well.
More than 500 collaborative efforts supported by NSF involve U.S. researchers with their international counterparts. The Arabidopsis Genome Research Project is an international scientific collaboration formed to thoroughly understand the physiology, biochemistry, growth, and development of a single flowering plant--the mustard plant--Arabidopsis thaliana. Already the project has generated an extraordinary string of scientific achievements, including the first molecular identi- fication of a plant hormone receptor, the first production of biodegradable plastic in transgenic plants, and the first control of flower development using transgenic plants. Within the past year, researchers have made significant advances that could revolutionize the development of disease-resistant plants.
At the other extreme of size and scope, NSF's Antarctic Program is a multifaceted research attempt to explore the unique biology, ecology, and geology of the Antarctic, and to use these insights to further scientific understanding in other areas, such as the global climate system. In one of many projects, investigators from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland are working together to resolve a major question of glacial geology-whether the huge terrestrial ice sheet in East Antarctica remained stable or collapsed some two to five million years ago when the climate was warmer than now, and what processes were involved in the ice sheet's response to global climate change.
Fifteen years ago, the Foundation was just beginning to establish research centers to bring together academic and industrial researchers to work on multidisciplinary problems. Today, NSF-sponsored centers number more than 160, including 21 Engineering Research Centers, 24 Science and Technology Centers, as well as supercomputer centers, Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers, Minority Research Centers of Excellence, and Long-Term Ecological Research sites. These centers offer a synergistic atmosphere enabling researchers from different disciplines to come together to solve large, complex problems, only part of which may be related to an individual researcher's expertise. The mixing of disciplines and researchers is critical to success.
The Center for Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington, for example, has worked with more than 20 firms to develop new and rapid techniques for large-scale DNA sequencing, a technology critical for genetic mapping and DNA "fingerprinting." In Louisiana, a three-year collaborative effort of universities and businesses has just been launched to put the new, highly-specialized technology of micromanufacturing into operation. And at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan, researchers are working with individual companies to develop applications of the revolutionary ultrafast technologies in fields as diverse as high-speed computing, medicine, fiber-optics, and biotechnology.
Technology and the marketplace
Well-conceived partnerships help our nation harvest the fruits of science and engineering. University activities supported by NSF focus on the development of new knowledge and new ways of critical thinking and problem solving, and the education and training of tomorrow's science and technology workforce. NSF has established ten State/Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers as a means of furthering scientific and technological development relevant to states' interests in encouraging economic growth. Developed jointly with the National Governors' Association's Science and Technology Council of the States, these centers emphasize the use of fundamental research to enable new technologies that will have a high potential for commercialization, job creation, and economic development. One example is the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval in Amherst, MA, which has developed a probabilistic-based information retrieval engine called INQUERY. Already, the Library of Congress is using INQUERY to make legislative information available to the public over the Internet.
Partnerships also can play an important role in disseminating the fruits of science and technology to small businesses. For example, the Science and Technology Center for Cement-Based Materials at Northwestern University has joined with the State of Illinois to set up the Illinois Small Business Partnership, offering small businesses access to the Center's faculty and participation in Center symposia.
Sometimes research in one area can lead to innovations in another. Research on the fundamental nature of fluids passing through small openings involves a host of problems related to pressure, viscosity, flow rates, particle deflection, and dispersal patterns. At the Engineering Research Center at Purdue University, the industrial partner initially most interested in this line of research was involved in spray painting. But a major benefactor of the research was Cummins Engine, a company that makes diesel engines, because the same fundamental principles are important for fuel injection systems. Cummins was able to use this research to improve its own engines, as well as to develop fuel injection systems that now are used by overseas engine manufacturers.
In addition to stimulating research and accelerating the commercialization of products, the educational benefits of some university-industry partnerships are equally important. Today, each of NSF's centers has a teaching and outreach component that brings scientists into schools, and invites high school students and teachers into the centers. For many students, work at a center might be their first contact with an industrial perspective. For industry, the benefits of these contacts begin with the immediate knowledge gained from the research and they continue for years into the future. Students who have participated in joint research activities gain a perspective on industrial needs and a respect for careers in industry that in the past often were missing from the academic experience.
A recent addition to our "partnership portfolio" is GOALI--Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry--which aims to increase the application of university research and education and to synergize university-industry partnerships. Beginning with engineering projects in 1994, the GOALI initiative is having an important educational impact on faculty, students, and industrial researchers. The mechanisms of collaboration can take a variety of forms; for example, a professor and student or postdoctoral fellow might work on-site in a company laboratory for up to one year. Or, an industry scientist might come to the university to teach or develop a new educational program. Alternatively, collaborative projects might be undertaken with co-principal investigators from industry and the university.
Already, GOALI is spawning research in new areas-polymer molding in conjunction with AT&T, metal flow with Alcoa, smart fluids at Ford, advanced fluidized beds at Exxon, materials handling at Du Pont. A collaboration between the Otis Elevator Company and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has led to the development of new dispatching controls, based on "fuzzy logic," that reduce waiting time for elevators. In each case, the goal is for the university to conduct generic research and make it accessible to society for application and further development.
Increasing the representation of minorities and women
Underrepresented minorities receive fewer than three percent of the total doctoral degrees awarded in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology; women earn fewer than one third of science doctorates and only nine percent of engineering doctorates. Women represent 45 percent of all workers in the U.S. but only 18 percent of the science and engineering workforce. As Dr. Anne Petersen, Deputy Director of NSF, speaking at a pathbreaking NSF conference on Women and Science held in December 1995, noted, "Percentages that low make you think we're talking about the 1950s, not the 1990s."
Science literacy must not be limited only to certain groups in our society. A scientifically literate citizenry and a technologically sophisticated workforce will strengthen the nation's global competitiveness and economic well-being. With these objectives in mind, NSF has undertaken a number of collaborative efforts with universities, high schools, and other institutions to increase the participation of women and minorities in the technical workforce and in teaching science and mathematics.
NSF's Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) is a multidisciplinary and comprehensive undergraduate program designed to remove barriers that prevent full participation by individuals from certain minority groups (African Americans, Latinos, and American Indians) that are underrepresented in the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) workforce. For the 15 AMP partnerships receiving more than one year of support from NSF, the average increase in baccalaureate degree completion rates of minority students in SMET fields is 15 percent per year. AMPs also have implemented summer "bridge" programs for incoming freshmen, research experiences for undergraduates, curriculum reform activities for "gateway" courses, and collaborative learning supplemental sessions for SMET courses.
To increase the participation of women in the sciences, we must begin early and provide continuing reinforcement for science education. The National Science Partnership for Girl Scouts and Science Museums is a nationwide collaboration of science museums, Girl Scout councils, and NSF to help make science fun and exciting for girls through training and hands-on science kits. NSF's ultimate aim is to reach all 2.3 million Girl Scouts and their 780,000 leaders in the United States.
NSF's support helped start a project known as WISE, or Women in Science Excel, at Stony Brook, the State University of New York. The project focuses on six crucial years in the educational pipeline--9th grade through sophomore year in college. We know now that these are the years when a disproportionate number of well-qualified girls and women give up on potential careers in science and engineering, not because of a lack of good grades or ability, but because of a continuing absence of role models, mentoring, and encouraging attitudes. WISE is one of many projects seeking to make a difference.
For women who have selected or are exploring a career path in science and engineering, NSF tries to help clear systemic hurdles in their path towards research achievements, a key factor in career advancement in science and engineering. Visiting Professorships for Women, a university partnership program, gives experienced female scientists and engineers the opportunity to conduct advanced research at academic institutions of their choice, where they have access to other prominent scientists in their fields.
Providing a broader educational experience than classroom instruction alone
Education is at the core of NSF's mission. The Foundation has programs to educate and inspire teachers and faculty, to develop exciting curriculum materials, to provide children with early hands-on science experiences, and to enrich informal education in museums and other contexts. At the heart of our efforts is also the understanding that long-lasting and much-needed change in science education requires the mobilization of entire communities. We must bring together schools, teachers, parents, administrators, boards of education, mayors, governors, members of the business community, and other citizens to improve dramatically the quality of science education in each community.
NSF has recently begun providing significant support to improve undergraduate engineering education. The emphasis is on teaching our future engineers to find solutions from a wide range of disciplines, and to work in teams rather than singly. In one project that is part of an Engineering Education Coalition, the instructors assigned their students the task of designing a low-cost, portable shelter that will keep homeless people warm on winter nights. This kind of project can infuse a sense of service into undergraduate education, and teach students how to put their skills to work in ways that benefit the larger community.
As is the case with other professionals, scientists and engineers are likely to change jobs several times during their careers. These changes may involve moves among academia, industry, and government. NSF must continue to be creative in helping students understand that science is a useful preparation for a broad array of professional careers. The study of science teaches the path of critical thinking-a vehicle for informed judgment that applies in every occupation, every walk of life, and that prepares students for an unpredictable, dynamic job market. Students facing the difficult decision of whether to devote their careers to science and engineering deserve top priority in our thinking. As we design new partnerships and evaluate existing ones, we need to think about ways to maximize the benefits to the largest number of students.
Conclusion
Cooperation. Collaboration. Partnership. As in most human relationships, there is no single formula for creating or sustaining a partnership. But at the core is the need to build on mutual interests to achieve an overarching goal. The variety of partnerships that NSF has entered into, over a period of decades, is indicative of the interconnectedness of government, academia, and industry in advancing this nation's research and education effort--an effort that serves as the engine of economic sustainability and of the nation's health, security, and well-being.
Over the last 50 years, science and technology have in large part defined what we think of as the American Dream--a dream of expanding opportunities and a continually improving quality of life. Today, the scientific community must become ever more visible in educating and explaining to our citizens and policy-makers how science and technology contribute to our lives, our aspirations, and our national goals. A strong commitment to the furthering of scientific and technological knowledge remains our best hope for keeping the American Dream healthy and secure for the next 50 years.
NSF's partnerships have yielded enormous benefits since the Foundation's inception in 1950.
Gemini 8-meter telescopes project: On a clear day...
Taking advantage of some of the best natural conditions for observation on Earth, the Gemini Project is constructing two 8-meter, optical-infrared telescopes to undertake a broad range of astronomical research. The unprecedented size and imaging ability of these telescopes-more than ten times more powerful than the present generation of 4-meter telescopes-will help astronomers investigate such questions as the formation and evolution of galaxies, the origin of quasars and planetary systems, and the internal structure of stars.
The siting of the telescopes--in the northern hemisphere on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and in the southern hemisphere on Cerro Pachón in Chile--will provide complete sky coverage so that the center of our galaxy and of the Magellanic Clouds can be observed.
Groundbreaking for both sites took place in October 1994; the Hawaii site is scheduled to become operational in 1998, the Chile site in 2000. Both sites are considered superb astronomical locations, with low water-vapor content, atmospheric stability, and a high percentage of photometric nights.
The Gemini Project teams the United States in an international partnership with the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Each partner contributes a share of the cost and receives a share of observation time on the telescopes. NSF provides 50 percent of the project's funding, making the United States the largest contributor. As is common in astronomy, the telescopes also will be available for use by the international community of astronomers.
Engineering research centers
New knowledge almost always stimulates new ways of thinking about existing technology. NSF's 21 Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) were established to catalyze a new culture in academia by integrating education and research, and by blending university and industrial perspectives.
The Carnegie Mellon Engineering Research Center in Data Storage Systems has made advances in technology important to several disk drive manufacturers in the United States. Focusing on the simulation of recording head dynamics, Professor M. Jhon and two of his graduate students have successfully combined the effects of air bearing design, gaseous rarefaction, and surface roughness to develop a state-of-the-art head/disk interface simulation code useful in interpreting tribology information and is important to the design of the next generation of computer recording heads.
The Institute for Systems Research (ISR) at the University of Maryland, one of the original ERCs established by NSF in 1985, takes a "strategically integrated" approach to its education programs, which form a continuum from elementary school through postdoctoral study and into engineering practice. The approach is to employ this continuum to create an educational development path that: attracts pre-college students to science and engineering; enhances pre-college teachers' awareness of and ability to apply technology to effect changes in their curricula; educates and trains a new generation of systems engineers at the university level; and retrains practicing engineers, providing them with opportunities to keep abreast of rapidly changing technologies. ISR's cross-disciplinary education programs strongly complement the Institute's research activities. A CEO roundtable, in its assessment of the impact of the University of Maryland-College Park on the State of Maryland, listed the ISR as an exemplary program in its partnership with industry.
International cooperative biodiversity groups (ICBG): Treasures of tropical forests
In the race to collect, identify, and preserve the biodiversity of tropical plant life, NSF has joined with the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish five innovative partnerships, bringing together U.S. university researchers with pharmaceutical companies, environmental organizations, and organizations located within developing countries. The project's goals are to encourage biodiversity conservation in developing countries, promote sustainable economic activity, and discover potential new anti-cancer drugs and other therapeutic agents.
In Suriname, for example, researchers from the Missouri Botanical Garden and Conservation International are working with several Surinamese organizations to collect hundreds of species of plants and prepare extracts for testing. Back in the United States, the testing is done by participants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The project is using a bi-directional approach, involving both random collections of flowering and fruiting plants, and work with local shamans to collect plants that are believed to promote healing. Part of this project, therefore, will assess whether shamanic lore can contribute useful findings to Western medicine. Another important part of the project is to develop legal agreements to prevent the possibility of resource exploitation in third-world countries. The aim is to ensure, through legal agreements, that the host countries, villages, and organizations taking part in the effort share equitably in the benefits of whatever drugs are discovered.
Other researchers in the five-year International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups are working in forests in Peru, Costa Rica, Cameroon, and Nigeria, as well as in arid regions in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.
Magic School Bus: The world is the classroom
"Science is for everyone!" says Ms. Frizzle, teacher extraordinaire and Lily Tomlin's alter ego on the Magic School Bus science show aired weekly on PBS stations.
In its first season, the program garnered an Emmy award for Ms. Tomlin, a 1994 Parent's Choice Gold Medal, five CINE Golden Eagles, and a host of other prestigious awards and nominations. As many as three million young viewers may tune in each week to watch the Magic School Bus transform itself into a spaceship, submarine, or blimp as it transports the program's class on a wild science ride.
In addition to the television show, more than one million children have visited the hands-on Magic School Bus Traveling Exhibits and more than 100 museums have staged events using Magic School Bus Activity Trunks. These events boosted attendance to record levels at participating children's museums and science centers. Twelve million Magic School Bus books are in print, and 25,000 children participated in a "rescue the Magic School Bus" story-completion contest.
Funded by NSF and Microsoft Home, and produced by Scholastic Productions, the Magic School Bus has gathered numerous youth-serving organizations into a partnership effort, including Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASPIRA, Girl Scouts, Girls Incorporated, 4-H, the National Urban League, and YouthALIVE!
This unique project-built on the collaborative efforts of media producers, museums, youth-serving organizations, and a major publisher-has proven itself highly successful in motivating children's interest in science, introducing youth to science concepts and ideas, and inspiring positive attitudes toward science and education among students and teachers.
Digital libraries research initiative
Six universities are spearheading research projects aimed at developing new technologies for digital libraries. These vast libraries are storehouses of information located around the world and linked through the Internet. A joint initiative of NSF with the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency and NASA, the effort grew out of increasing need for and ability to deliver network-based systems and services capable of providing diverse communities of users with coherent access to large, geographically distributed stores of knowledge, These libraries could have a profound impact on business, professional, and personal activities.
Project Alexandria at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will develop a digital library providing easy access to large and diverse collections of maps, images, and other forms of spatially-indexed information. A project at the University of Illinois' new Grainger Engineering Library Information Center in Urbana-Champaign will be centered around journals and magazines in the engineering and science literature. The Informedia project at Carnegie Mellon University is developing new technologies for search and retrieval involving extremely large data collections. One innovation under development is "video skimming," which will allow accelerated viewing of video and audio sequences without the usual accompanying distortions. Other projects are being developed at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan, and Stanford University.
Each project brings together multidisciplinary teams of researchers and diverse user groups; more than 60 organizations have formed partnering relationships with the universities, including major U.S. computer and communications companies, schools and colleges, libraries, publishers, local government and state agencies, and professional associations. The goal is to advance dramatically the means to collect, store, organize and use a variety of information and knowledge sources in electronic forms over high-speed networks.
Science and technology centers
There are only 24 of them, but NSF's Science and Technology Centers (STCs) have earned a reputation for cutting-edge innovation in partnerships of university, government, and industry researchers. Established in 1989, the goal of STCs is to engage in cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research that requires a center-mode approach because of the complexity of the problem.
The Southern California Earthquake Center, for example, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles has formed partnerships with a variety of local, state, and federal agencies that are involved with studying and responding to earthquakes. The Center also consults with the insurance industry concerning the "quake-worthiness" of residences and businesses. Because earthquakes remain a topic of continuing concern in Los Angeles, the Center has undertaken an aggressive program of outreach and education to keep the public informed as more is learned about earthquake science and engineering.
Three other STCs have as their mission the understanding of natural phenomena related to the geosciences. The Center for Clouds, Chemistry, and Climate at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla encourages an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the role of clouds and chemistry in global climate change. In partnership with the Stephen-Birch Aquarium-Museum at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Center has developed museum exhibits and a far-reaching teacher education program. The Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms at the University of Oklahoma studies meteorological phenomena and forecasting. And, the Center for High Pressure Research at the State University of New York at Stony Brook probes fundamental properties and processes of the earth, using high-temperature and high-pressure techniques.
| FY 1994 Number of Awards | FY 1994 Amount in Millions | FY 1995 Number of Awards | FY 1995 Amount in Millions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biological Sciences | 2,877 | $287.88 | 2,905 | $300.84 |
| Computer & Information Science & Engineering | 1,498 | $239.53 | 1,529 | $257.83 |
| Engineering | 2,894 | $296.73 | 3,004 | $322.92 |
| Geosciences | 2,549 | $404.16 | 2,557 | $419.62 |
| Mathematical & Physical Sciences | 4,668 | $617.88 | 4,484 | $645.24 |
| Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences | 1,553 | $98.21 | 1,652 | $110.36 |
| U.S. Polar Programs | 477 | $222.48 | 493 | $222.65 |
| Critical Technologies Institute | 1 | $1.50 | 1 | $2.00 |
| Education & Human Resources | 2,573 | $569.03 | 2,526 | $611.88 |
| Academic Research Infrastructure | 254 | $105.38 | 240 | $117.46 |
| Major Research Equipment | 2 | $17.04 | 2 | $126.00 |
Source: Fiscal Year 1997 Justification of Estimates of Appropriations to the Congress
The National Science Foundation received 356 invention disclosures in fiscal year 1994 and 242 invention disclosures in fiscal year 1995. Rights to these inventions were allocated in accordance with Chapter 18 of Title 35 of the United States Code, commonly called the "Bayh-Dole Act."
National Science Foundation senior staff
Director
Neal F. Lane
Deputy Director
Anne C. Petersen
General Counsel
Lawrence Rudolph
Director, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs
Julia A. Moore
Director, Office of Policy Support
Susan E. Cozzens
Director, Office of Science and Technology Infrastructure
Nathaniel G. Pitts
Director, Office of Polar Programs
Cornelius W. Sullivan
Assistant Director for Biological Sciences
Mary E. Clutter
Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Paul R. Young
Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources
Luther S. Williams
Assistant Director for Engineering
Joseph Bordogna
Assistant Director for Geosciences
Robert W. Corell
Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
William C. Harris
Assistant Director for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Cora B. Marrett
Director, Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management
Joseph L. Kull
Acting Director, Office of Information and Resource Management
Gerard R. Glaser
Senior Fellow for Science and Engineering And Assistant to the Director for Human Resource Development
William A. Lester, Jr
National Science Board members
Terms Expire May 10, 1998
Dr. F. Albert Cotton
Distinguished Professor
Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Dr. Charles E. Hess
Director of International Programs
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA
Dr. John E. Hopcroft
Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Dr. Shirley M. Malcolm
Head
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Washington, DC
Dr. James L. Powell
President and Director
Museum of Natural History
Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Frank H.T. Rhodes
President Emeritus
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Dr. Ian M. Ross
President-Emeritus
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Holmdel, NJ
Dr. Richard N. Zare
Chairman of the National Science Board
Professor
Department of Chemistry
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Terms Expire May 10, 2000
Dr. Sanford D. Greenberg
Chairman and CEO
Tei Industries, Incorporated
Washington, DC
Dr. Eve L. Menger
Director
Characterization Science and Services
Corning Incorporated
Corning, NY
Dr. Claudia I. Mitchell-Kernan
Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs and Dean Graduate Division
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Diana S. Natalicio
Vice Chairman of the National Science Board
President
The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX
Dr. Robert M. Solow
Institute Professor Emeritus
Department of Economics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Dr. Warren M. Washington
Senior Scientist and Head
Climate Change Research Section
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Boulder, CO
Dr. John A. White, Jr.
Regents' Professor and Dean of Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Member Ex Officio
Dr. Neal F. Lane
(Chairman, Executive Committee)
Director
National Science Foundation
Arlington, VA
Dr. Marta Cehelsky
Executive Officer
National Science Board
National Science Foundation
Arlington, VA
National Science Board Consultants
Dr. Perry L. Adkisson
Chancellor Emeritus
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Dr. Bernard F. Burke
Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Dr. Thomas B. Day
President
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA
Dr. James J. Duderstadt
President
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. Marye Anne Fox
Vice President for Research
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Dr. Phillip A. Griffiths
Director
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, NJ
Mr. Jaime Oaxaca
Vice Chairman
Coronado Communications Corporation
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
NSF is an independent federal agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-507). Its aim is to promote and advance scientific and engineering progress in the United States. The idea of such a foundation was an outgrowth of the important contributions made by science and technology during World War II. From those first days, NSF has had a unique place in the Federal government: It is responsible for the overall health of science and engineering across all disciplines. In contrast, other federal agencies support research focused on specific missions, such as health or defense. The Foundation is also committed to ensuring the Nation's supply of scientists, engineers, and science educators.
NSF funds research and education in science and engineering through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to more that 2,000 colleges, universities, and other research institutions in all parts of the United States.
NSF receives about 53,000 requests for funding (both new and renewal projects) each year and makes about 20,000 awards. These typically are awarded to universities, colleges, academic consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, certain oceanographic vessels, and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.
The Foundation is led by a presidentially appointed director and a National Science Board composed of 24 outstanding scientists, engineers, and educators from universities, colleges, industries, and other organizations involved in research and education.
NSF is structured much like a university, with grants-making divisions for the various disciplines and fields of science and engineering and science education. NSF also uses a formal management process to coordinate research in strategic areas that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Foundation is helped by advisors from the scientific and engineering community and from industry who serve on formal committees or as ad hoc reviewers of proposals. This advisory system, which focuses on both program direction and specific proposals, involves more than 59,000 scientists and engineers a year. NSF staff members who are experts in a certain field or area make award recommendations; applicants get anonymous verbatim copies of peer reviews.
Awardees are wholly responsible for conducting their research and preparing the results for publication; the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.
NSF welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists and engineers and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF.
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