National Science Foundation

With its commitment to broad-based, cross-cutting programs that advance the boundaries of science and engineering, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is essential in guiding the nation’s non-defense-related research and education.  As recognized by the Administration and Congress, in order for the U.S. to remain competitive in the integrated global marketplace, the nation must “support and promote innovation research in the United States through high-risk, high-reward projects that meet fundamental scientific and technological challenges.” 

To implement this vision, the America COMPETES Act, which was signed into law in August 2007, includes the NSF as one of three key federal science and engineering agencies targeted for budget doubling over 10 years.  While comprising only 4% of the total federal budget for R&D, NSF provides 45% of the federal support given to academic institutions for non-medical basic research.  Moreover, while NSF does not directly support medical research, its investments do provide the technologies in diagnosis, medicine, manufacturing pharmaceuticals, and drug delivery that are essential for the medical sciences and related industries. 

President’s FY 2009 Budget Request for NSF and ENG

The total FY2009 NSF budget request is $6.9 Billion (B), representing a $882 Million (M) or 13.6% increase over the $6.0B appropriated for NSF in the FY2008 omnibus spending bill signed by President Bush in late December 2007.  It is worth noting that the omnibus bill funded NSF at a level considerably lower than the President’s original FY2008 budget request of $6.4B, which was set at a level commensurate with the intended doubling of the NSF budget over ten years (starting from 2006). 

Research and Related Activities (RRA) comprises the dominant portion of the total NSF request at $5.6M, representing a 16.0% increase over the FY 2008 estimate of $4.8M.  After flat funding in FY 2008, all of NSF’s research directorates would receive considerable increases in FY 2009, recovering from post-2004 NSF budget cuts to reach all-time highs in inflation-adjusted dollars.  The FY2009 budget request for ENG is $759M, a 19.2% increase over the FY 2008 estimate.  Noteworthy, $127 of this $759 M represents the SBIR/STTR program, which ENG manages for all of NSF.  The request for ENG, less the SBIR/STTR program, is then $632M, making it the fifth largest activity in RRA behind Mathematical and Physical Sciences ($1,402M), Geosciences ($849M), Biological Sciences ($675M) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering ($639M).  The remaining activities, in descending funding order, are:  Office of Polar Programs ($491M), Integrative Activities ($276M), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences ($233M), Office of Cyberinfrastructure ($220M), Office of International Science and Engineering ($47M), and U.S. Antarctic Research Commission ($1.5M).

ENG consists of the following disciplinary-area divisions:  Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET), up 32.3% to $173M; Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), up 26.3% to $202M; Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS), up 13% to $94M; Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP), up 15.8% to $141M; Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI), up 16% to $29M; and Engineering Education and Centers (EEC), up 3.4% to $120M.

A portion of the ENG budget (allocated from the constituent divisions) will continue to support research and education efforts related to broad, Foundation-wide investments in a number of areas, including the Administration’s interagency R&D priorities.  Under ENG, three new priority areas are funded in FY 2009, i.e. Adaptive Systems Technology ($3.49M), Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment ($0.53M), and Science and Engineering Beyond Moore’s Law ($4.0M).  The following continuing areas also receive increases:  National Nanotechnology Initiative (up 2.2% to $140M), Cyberinfrastructure (up 7.1% to $60M), and Networking and Information Technology R&D (up 45.9% to $28M — $16.8M of which is Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation).  Climate Change Science Program ($1.0M) funding remains level, and the Human and Social Dynamics initiative concluded in FY2008, with funds returning to core programs for continued support.

A more detailed explanation of the NSF FY 2009 budget request can be found here.

NSF Officials & Organization

• NSF Organization Chart  
• NSF Director, The Honorable Arden L. Bement, Jr.
• NSF Deputy Director, The Honorable Kathie L. Olsen
• Dr. Richard Buckius, Acting Assistant Director for Engineering 

Historical Tables & Charts (by AAAS)

• Historical Data on Federal R&D by Agency, FY 1976-2007
• Trends in Federal R&D by Agency, FY 1976-2007

Coalitions

• Coalition for National Science Funding

Reports

• Science and Engineering Indicators 2006, National Science Board
• "America's Pressing Challenge-Building a Stronger Foundation," National Science Board
• "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future," National Academy of Sciences
• "Engineering Research and America's Future: Meeting the Challenges of a Global Economy," National Academy of Sciences
• Preliminary Report of the National Academy of Engineering Committee to Assess the Capacity of the U.S. Engineering Research Enterprise
• Mechanical Engineering in the FY06 Budget Request (analysis prepared by Timothy Wei, Ph.D., ASME Board on Government Relations)
• Nanotechnology in the FY06 Budget Request (analysis prepared by Michael Roco,Ph.D., ASME Fellow)
• Innovate America, Council on Competitiveness
• Gender Differences in the Careers of Academic Scientists and Engineers, Division of Science Resources Statistics of NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
• U.S. Academic R&D Continues to Grow as More Universities and Colleges Expand Their R&D Activities 
• The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century