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Embargoed Until 10 A.M., EST
NSF PR 97-7 - February 6, 1997
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President Requests $3.4 Billion for NSF in FY 1998
Increase Cites "Emerging
Opportunities"
The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced
the outline for the President's fiscal year 1998 budget
request to provide the agency with $3.367 billion,
a three percent rise over the current year's estimate.
NSF's increase focuses on a number of emerging areas
of science and engineering, including research in
knowledge and distributed intelligence (KDI) and new
areas of research on life and the earth's environment.
The new budget plan for 1998 also defines greater
emphasis on innovative education programs, especially
those which link learning with discovery.
"This request demonstrates the value that the Administration
places on fundamental research as an investment in
the nation's future," Neal Lane, NSF Director said.
"There are a number of key areas driving national
growth and opportunity as we near a new century. Top
economists estimate that advances in science and technology
account for half of all real economic growth in the
United States; so it's clear that fundamental research
holds the key to exploiting scientific potential and
to bringing economic success to America."
NSF's FY98 budget request includes a 3.4% increase
planned in overall research and related activities,
and a 6.3% rise in funding for major research equipment.
Some of the highlights and priority areas include:
- Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence.
NSF will invest $58 million on a focused, multidisciplinary
KDI program. This is built upon a base of existing
KDI-related projects of more than $355 million.
In just a few years, the power and connectivity
of computers has changed the face of science and
engineering and transformed the U.S. economy.
KDI is envisioned as an agency-wide effort to
revolutionize information, computing, networking
and communicating in ways that will fundamentally
change how all Americans will learn, work and
interact.
- Life and Earth's Environment.
NSF is continuing its strong presence
in life, social and environmental sciences and
will devote increasing attention on how living
organisms interact with their environment. One
such effort is Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn).
Undertaken in 1997, NSF will continue to develop
this initiative in FY98 -- an overall effort totaling
$35 million in concert with activities in other
research agencies. NSF will also explore urban-based
activities within a coherent, interdisciplinary
approach during 1998.
- Integration of Research and Education.
This NSF core strategy will touch virtually
all areas of NSF's investments, but a particular
focus will be on enhancing the Faculty Early Career
Development (CAREER) program, which will be funded
at approximately $83 million, a 21 percent increase
over FY 97. The CAREER program provides a framework
for junior-level faculty members to link their
research activities with their teaching, (responsibility
for curriculum innovation) and mentoring of students.
Funding for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(REU) program will be increased by 11 percent in FY
98 compared to the FY 97 estimate.
Also, a new Integrative Graduate Education and Research
Training (IGERT) program, funded at $20 million, will
provide new opportunities for multidisciplinary research
and educational training opportunities for graduate
students in science and engineering.
"Success stories abound, and they're all traced back
to investments in people and ideas, the very heart
of NSF's mission in fundamental research and education
in science and engineering," Lane said.
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