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NSF PA/M 03-31 (NSB 03-77) - May 28, 2003
National Science Board Approves Several Large Awards and Projects
The National Science Board (NSB), the 24-member policy body for
the National Science Foundation (NSF), approved several large
awards on May 22 that will allow NSF to fund new projects and to
continue existing projects and major partnership agreements. NSF
is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental
research and education programs in all areas of science and
engineering.
NSB actions on major NSF funding priorities included:
- EarthScope - NSB approved an award, not to exceed $218.6
million over five years, for this integrated observational
facility that will address fundamental questions about the
evolution of continents and the causes and processes of
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Listed as one of NSF's
highest priority projects, EarthScope received funding in
the current fiscal 2003 budget. The NSB action allows NSF
to establish five-year cooperative agreements for
acquisition, construction and facilities management, with
separate agreements for operations and maintenance.
- Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) - NSB
approved funding for four years, up to a total of $44
million, for this mobile atmospheric observatory. AMISR
provides opportunities for scientists and students from all
parts of the globe to undertake research and education
projects in atmospheric sciences, and react to new research
priorities as they surface. Board action allows NSF to fund
final design and construction of the system over four years
through a cooperative agreement with SRI International,
which has been working on design, development, prototyping
and testing.
- IceCube - NSB approved up to $24.54 million for the
University of Wisconsin and U.S. Antarctic Program logistics
and support contractors to complete the first phase of the
IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. IceCube
will expand the ability for scientists to understand how
nature accelerates cosmic rays to the high energies that are
observed, opening a new window on the inner workings of
supermassive black holes, gammaray bursts and other
cosmological phenomena. IceCube received an initial $15
million in fiscal 2002. The total funding for this phase of
the project will reach more than $39.5 million over two
years.
- University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) -
NSB extended support to UCAR in Boulder, Colo. to manage and
operate the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
over a five-year period starting in fiscal 2004. NSF will
provide up to $498 million. Another $50 million is expected
from interagency and other agreements that will bring NCAR's
total support to $548 million from fiscal 2004-2008. NCAR
is currently the primary source of research in the
atmospheric sciences, with a staff that includes 130 Ph.D.
scientists who study the vast range of atmosphere and
climate dynamics, plus a range of educational and public
outreach programs.
- PACI - The science board also extended NSF's cooperative
agreements under the Partnerships for Advanced Computational
Infrastructure (PACI). The extension allows time for NSF to
consider recommendations of the Advisory Committee on
Cyberinfrastructure and to formulate a future proposal to
the NSB on "a coordinated set of activities that will serve
the NSF community's needs for cyberinfrastructure for the
coming decades." Starting in 2004, NSF will integrate
several ongoing terascale and computational research
activities under an NSF-wide cyberinfrastructure priority
area.
For other details of the NSB meeting, see:
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/meetings/mtg_list.htm#recent
For more information:
The U.S. Congress established the National Science Board (NSB) in 1950 to serve both as an independent national science policy body and to oversee and guide the activities of the National Science Foundation. See: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/start.htm.
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