NSF Budget to Reach $3.2 Billion in FY 1995

[Chris Somerville]

 Sender: smacklin at nsf.gov
 ------------------------------- Message Contents -----------------------------
 --

 National Science Foundation                    February 7, 1994
                                                NSF PR 94-4

 NSF BUDGET TO REACH $3.2 BILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 1995

 PRESIDENT SEES AGENCY BUDGET AS AN "INVESTMENT"

 Neal Lane, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), today
 February 7) announced that the Clinton Administration has proposed 
a fiscal
 year 1995 budget of $3.2 billion for the National Science Foundation 
(NSF), a
 $182.2 million increase over the 1994 budget of $3.02 billion.

 According to Lane, the six percent increase for NSF reflects the
 administration's priority "to make an investment in the nation's 
science and
 technology capabilities, an investment which is critical to our future 
wealth
 and well-being."

 He added that while the agency's budget is about four percent of the 
total
 federal investment in research and development, NSF supports 
nearly 50
 percent of all basic research at academic institutions when 
biomedical
 research support is excluded.

 Lane said that NSF plays a central role in sustaining the nation's 
research
 capabilities because of its considerable investment in the 
university-based
 research enterprise, activities at the core of U.S. capabilities in 
science,
 mathematics, and engineering.  In addition, he said that 
university-based
 research is a primary source of both new knowledge and the setting 
at which
 future generations of scientists and engineers are trained.


 RESEARCH FOCUSSED IN STRATEGIC AREAS

 According to the NSF Director, the amount requested for NSF's 
activities in
 its research and research-related account is $2.348 billion, a $180 
million
 or 8.3 percent increase above this fiscal year.

 Lane said the Foundation is increasing its emphasis on inter-agency 
efforts
 directly tied to national priorities.  These initiatives--which cross
 disciplinary boundaries, government agencies, industrial sectors, 
and
 international borders--focus primarily on strategic areas because of 
the
 benefits they can provide to the nation.

 While these initiatives can be found in several areas, the most 
prominent are
 global change, and high performance computing and communications 
research.

 Funding for global change research will raise from $141.9 million to 
about
 $207.5 million, an increase of more than 46 percent, and will be 
targeted at
 better understanding fundamental physical, geological, biological, 
and
 socioeconomic processes. Specific research activities will include
 international data collection and analysis; climate change modeling 
and
 forecasting; and the development of policies related to climate 
change.

 High performance computing and communications will increase from 
about $267
 million to $328.6 million, an increase of more than 23 percent.  This
 initiative will wed advanced computing and communications 
processes to
 research and education in all areas of science, engineering, and 
mathematics.
 Two key aspects of this initiative involve developing networks for 
elementary
 and secondary schools, and harnessing the most advanced 
computers to study
 "grand challenges," i.e., complex problems such as weather 
forecasting and
 understanding the formulation of galaxies.

 Additional investments will be made in other important research 
areas such as
 advanced manufacturing technology, advanced materials, 
biotechnology, civil
 infrastructure systems, and environmental research.

 SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY 
EDUCATION

 Lane said that the budget for NSF's education and human resources 
account
 totals $586 million, about a three percent increase above last year.  
He said
 that this level of funding will continue to keep the Foundation at the
 forefront in improving the nation's scientific and technological 
education
 enterprise, and "strengthens the scientific and technical workforce by
 raising the scientific literacy of all Americans."

 He cited systemic reform and advanced technology education as two 
specific
 examples of NSF emphasis.

 Nearly $86 million will go toward the agency's systemic reform 
initiatives.
 These activities, targeted at state, urban, and rural school systems, 
link
 them with different levels of government, academic institutions, local
 businesses, museums, and other organizations.  The objective of 
this joint
 effort is to significantly alter the education of K-12 students in 
science,
 mathematics, engineering, and technology.

 The second area, advanced technology education, was an initiative 
which began
 in fiscal year 1994.  The objective of this effort is to provide support 
to
 the nation's two-year colleges so that they can provide a better 
education to
 students not currently in a more traditional academic track.

 Lane added that the agency's on-going efforts to assess its 
education and
 training programs will continue to be a "high priority" during the 
upcoming
 fiscal year.  "After several years of substantial growth, we need to 
take a
 critical look at these important programs to ensure that our 
investments in
 them are as effective as they can be today and in the future," Lane 
said.

 INVESTMENT SUMMARY

 Lane summarized the $3.2 billion investment as one that 
emphasizes research
 and education activities to address major underlying issues facing
 society--competing in world markets, mitigating threats to the 
environment,
 improving efficiency in all sectors, educating citizens, and improving 
the
 quality of life for all Americans.  Through these activities, the 
Foundation
 will directly support an estimated 150,000 individuals at all levels in 
1995,
 ranging from students to teachers to mathematicians and to 
engineers.

                                 -end-