Press Statement - October 11, 2000

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Media contact:	Mary Hanson	703-292-8070	mhanson@nsf.gov

Statement by Dr. Rita Colwell
Director, National Science Foundation

On Award of Nobel Prizes

I congratulate this year's Nobel laureates in science for their achievements and well-deserved recognition. This is always exciting news for scientists, because we know what led up to this milestone-the long hours, hard work, and simple love of science. It’s especially exciting for the National Science Foundation because we so often play a significant role in the Nobelists’ careers.

Of the 11 Nobelists announced this week, six were supported by NSF at some time in their careers. This is consistent with an historical connection; of Nobelists named since 1960, 109 Nobelists have received NSF funding. This year’s NSF-funded Nobelists -- neuroscientist Paul Greengard, physicist Herbert Kroemer, chemists Alan Heeger and Alan MacDiarmid, and economists James Heckman and Daniel McFadden -- also reflect NSF’s multi-disciplinary influence. Some have been funded by NSF for decades, and together they have received dozens of merit-reviewed NSF grants. Many also support NSF by serving as peer reviewers or otherwise helping to direct the path of their chosen fields.

NSF is not only in the research business; we are also in the people business. We support 200,000 people each year, including researchers, teachers, students, post-doctorates and trainees. NSF is a source of human capital for people who win Nobel prizes--and who become teachers, and CEOs, and politicians, and lawyers. We foster and encourage creative thinking; we select for excellence; and we fund the best and the brightest based on merit. We all benefit--and the American people most of all.

For a list of 2000 Nobel laureates, see: http://www.nobel.se/announcement/2000/index.html

For historical context on NSF’s connection to the Nobel prizes, see: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/media/2000/nsfnobels.htm

For more information on this year’s NSF-funded Nobelists, contact:

• Heckman and McFadden: Charlie Drum, 703-292-8070, cdrum@nsf.gov
• Kroemer, Heeger and MacDiarmid: Peter West, 703-292-8070, pwest@nsf.gov