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Testimony of
Dr. Neal Lane, Director
National Science Foundation
Before the Subcommittee on Basic Research
House Science Committee
March 5, 1997
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to appear today and
provide the subcommittee with an overview of the NSF
budget request for the coming year. We have prepared
draft authorizing legislation for the National Science
Foundation for fiscal years 1998 and 1999 that we
will submit to the Congress this week.
For the coming fiscal year, the National Science Foundation
requests $3.367 billion. This will allow us to invest
in more than 19,000 research and education projects
in science and engineering. These investments in people,
ideas, and exploring the unknown will guide our future
course as a nation and bring new sources of prosperity
and opportunity to all Americans.
If one were to take a snapshot of the U.S. economy
today, it would show a number of key areas driving
growth and opportunity. They come under headings like
biotechnology, multimedia, medical imaging, environmental
technologies, polymers, decision theory, educational
technologies, sensors, and opto-electronics, not to
mention high-speed computational and communications
technologies like the Internet and World Wide Web.
Virtually all of these innovations have become widely
used within the past few decades. And while these
areas are key to productivity in a wide array of industries
and sectors, from manufacturing to health care to
financial services, they share one important trait
- each has deep roots in the support for fundamental
research and education provided by the National Science
Foundation and other Federal agencies. For example:
- Boeing's new 777 jetliner has been cited as "the
most advanced and service-ready jet in commercial
aviation history." Yet, the 777 was designed entirely
"on screen" - bypassing the need for models and
mockups, and saving the company an estimated $100
million. The computer-assisted-design and virtual
reality systems that underlie this important accomplishment
can all be traced to years of sustained public
investments in such diverse topics as scientific
visualization, fundamental mathematics, rapid
prototyping, and other areas that cut across the
spectrum of science and engineering.
- On January 2, 1997, a New York Times article
on productivity in business opened with the following
passage:
"Dell Computer Corp. has designed
its newest factory without room for inventory
storage. Chrysler Corp. can increase vehicle
production without building new factories.
And General Electric expects to save millions
of dollars by purchasing spare parts over
the Internet.
"On the surface, these are manufacturing stories.
At heart they are among the thousands of new
business practices made possible by technology."
- If an ordinary citizen were asked to name a field
of research that is unlikely to generate much
in the way of discoveries that would quickly find
their way to the marketplace, it would not be
surprising if astronomy were mentioned. But the
determination of precise positions for satellites
can only be accomplished by very long baseline
interferometry (VLBI) radio telescopes fixing
on distant cosmic radio sources. The Global Positioning
System that uses satellites to precisely pinpoint
our location at any spot on the globe would be
impossible without such precision. GPS has important
applications for the military, recreation, transportation,
and even for reducing the time and cost of commercial
airline flights. GPS is a multibillion dollar
industry that would have been impossible without
astronomical research.
Moreover, the technologies that made possible these
new innovations were in turn made possible by steady
and stable Federal support for the instruments and
insights needed to extend the frontiers of physics,
cosmology, supercomputing, manufacturing research,
and other areas of science and engineering that demand
the most of new technologies.
Similar success stories abound in today's world, such
as bacteria that munch on oil spills, classroom computers
that adapt automatically to students' strengths and
weaknesses, and new chemical techniques that slash
the cost of drug design and development. Each can
be traced back to investments in people and ideas
through research and education in science and engineering.
In this same way, we have great expectations that recent
breakthroughs in fundamental research hold the key
to future economic success. For example, the 1996
Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for research
on the carbon structures known as buckyballs that
NSF has supported for over a decade. Today, these
NSF-supported researchers are stringing buckyballs
together to create "nanotubes" - which turn out to
be 100 times stronger than steel but only one sixth
the weight. In the words of The Washington Post, these
could be the "drop-dead super-fiber of the future."
These and other examples bring to life what top economists
have been saying for years: public investments in
science and engineering yield immense dividends to
our economy and society.
Furthermore, NSF's unique role - that of supporting
university-based (non-clinical) research and education
across all fields and disciplines - has been found
to be among the most productive of all public investments.
One seminal study 1 has estimated that the rate of
return on investments in academic research exceeds
25 percent on an annual basis, outpacing even the
stock market over the long haul. Other studies have
found an increasingly vital link between our university
research base and the competitive position of U.S.
industry. Newly awarded patents, for example, draw
upon current findings from academic research at a
rate never before seen in history.
While these examples provide ample testimony to the
success of NSF's past investments, all signs are that
they are only the beginning of what is possible -
provided we uphold our nation's position of leadership
across the spectrum of science and engineering research
and education.
As we approach the 21st Century, it is especially noteworthy
that other nations - Japan in particular - are demonstrating
a growing awareness of the link between a strong science
and technology base and a nation's overall economic
vitality. U.S. Ambassador and former Vice President
Walter Mondale noted this in a recent editorial: "One
clear indicator of the seriousness of Japan's R&D;
efforts is the level of spending_." Japan has recently
announced a national goal of doubling its support
of basic research over the next five years. This provides
one more reminder that strong public support for research
and education is essential if the U.S. is to remain
a world leading economy in the 21st Century.
NSF FY 1998 REQUEST: HIGHLIGHTS
AND PRIORITIES
NSF's FY 1998 budget request provides NSF with an
overall increase of 3 percent, which would enable
the agency to pursue a number of emerging opportunities
that hold immense potential both from a scientific
standpoint and as drivers of future economic growth
and social benefit.
These focused efforts draw upon NSF's strong linkages
across all science and engineering fields, as well
as the agency's commitment to the integration of research
and education and to working in partnership with academic
institutions, private industry, and other agencies
at all levels of government.
Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence in the Age
of Information
Over the span of a few years, computers have moved
from large, air-conditioned rooms to our laps and
our pockets. While in 1980 NSF-supported scientists
and engineers had only limited access to the highest
levels of computational power, today they employ desktop
systems of comparable power and have access to a collection
of supercomputing facilities with capabilities they
could only dream about a decade ago. Over this same
period, the number of host computers on what is now
the Internet has leapt from about 200 to over 10 million
in 1996 - a 50,000 fold increase.
This rise in both power and connectivity has changed
the face of science and engineering, just as it has
generated new opportunities for all Americans. The
challenge today is to realize the full potential of
these emerging technologies for research, for education,
and for our economy and society. This era is often
referred to as "the information age," but that heading
does not do justice to the possibilities and opportunities
emerging today. The coming age is perhaps best described
as an era of "knowledge and distributed intelligence"
- an era in which knowledge is available to anyone,
located anywhere, at any time, and an era in which
power, information, and control move away from centralized
systems to the individual.
Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence (KDI) is an
ambitious Foundation-wide effort designed to take
information, communications, computing and networking
to a new level of technological, economic, educational,
and societal impact. It has the potential to revolutionize
not only U.S. science and engineering, but also the
way in which all Americans learn, work, and interact.
It draws on past advances made in networking, supercomputing,
and learning and intelligent systems. In FY 1998,
NSF plans a focused, multidisciplinary $58 million
program of activities in support of KDI research,
infrastructure development, and education that draws
upon and reinforces related on-going efforts totaling
approximately $355 million.
For FY 1998, these investments in KDI fall into two
basic categories:
- Multidisciplinary Approaches to Knowledge
and Distributed Intelligence ($48 million).
This NSF-wide activity will provide researchers
and educators an opportunity to link diverse components
of the KDI framework, so that advances in one
area work to the benefit of all. This effort will
span such activities as knowledge-based networking,
learning and intelligent systems, and new approaches
to computational tools important to many disciplines.
- Next Generation Internet ($10 million).
NSF is a key participant in the President's 5-year
program to move toward the Next Generation Internet.
The agency's role builds on its current programs
of networking, infrastructure development, and
research. NSF's $10 million contribution will
be devoted to participation in a multi-agency
program aimed at enhancing Internet capabilities
for research and education at colleges and universities.
Life and Earth's Environment
NSF has had a strong presence in the life, social,
and environmental sciences for many years, supporting
research and education activities that complement
the mission-driven activities of other agencies. Increasingly,
NSF is focusing on how living organisms interact with
their environment, including how humans affect their
environment and vice versa. Examples include microbial
diversity and bioremediation, metabolic engineering
and bioprocessing, natural hazards mitigation, environmental
geochemistry and biogeochemistry, human dimensions
of global change, and long term ecological research
sites.
The study of life in extreme environments can provide
important new insights into how organisms formed,
and about the range of adaptive mechanisms which allow
them to function. Researchers can then examine how
to mimic such mechanisms for use in situations inimical
to human life such as bioremediation or bioprocessing.
This overall effort was begun in FY 1997 and we will
continue to develop this program in FY 1998, in concert
with activities in other agencies (such as NASA's
Origins program).
Educating for the Future
America's system of higher education sets a world-leading
standard for excellence and inclusiveness. Yet even
this outstanding system faces challenges in preparing
students for dealing with the rapidly changing scientific
and technological landscape expected in the 21st century.
NSF is addressing these challenges by supporting innovative,
systemic approaches to education and training at all
levels, and especially through activities that link
learning and discovery.
Integration of Research and Education. This
core strategy from the Foundation's strategic plan
has emerged as a key touchstone for all NSF investments.
Educating today's students in a discovery-rich environment
will better prepare them to meet tomorrow's challenges.
Likewise, history has shown that research in an education-rich
environment yields an exceptionally dynamic and diverse
enterprise. FY 1998 highlights include:
- The CAREER program (Faculty Early Career Development),
which provides a framework for junior-level faculty
to link their research activities with their teaching
and mentoring responsibilities. For FY1998 the
CAREER program will grow by 21 percent, to $81
million. NSF nominates selected awardees for the
prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for
Scientists and Engineers in order to recognize
both the outstanding character of their research
and their commitment to education.
- The REU program (Research Experiences for Undergraduates)
will significantly expand in FY 1998, increasing
by 11 percent to almost $30 million. It is one
of NSF's most popular and successful programs,
as it provides opportunities for several thousand
undergraduate students each year to participate
in ongoing or specially designated research projects
at sites throughout the nation.
- Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training
(IGERT). This new cross-Foundation activity, funded
at $20 million, will merge features of the ongoing
Research Training Group program in the biological
sciences with the Graduate Research Traineeship
program. This experimental effort provides a flexible
alternate approach to graduate education - as
was recommended in recent reports by the National
Science Board and the National Academy of Sciences.
Systemic Reform. NSF's systemic reform activities
are well-established at the K-12 level, where they
will remain a high priority. FY 1998 will see the
initiation of focused systemic reform efforts at the
undergraduate and graduate levels that will involve
all parts of the Foundation. Experimental activities
in FY 1996 and FY 1997 - such as the Comprehensive
Reform of Undergraduate Education and the Recognition
Awards for the Integration of Research and Education
- have set the stage for an enhanced effort, or more
accurately, the age of Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence.
Challenges to Learning. Just as the information
age creates challenges and opportunities for the research
component of science and engineering, it creates challenges
and opportunities for learning. Formal education systems
have changed little while the workplace and other
aspects of life have been transformed and redesigned.
In conjunction with the KDI effort described above,
NSF will explore how individuals and groups of individuals
learn, both inside and outside formal education systems,
as well as how technology might be used to change
the patterns of traditional education.
EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research) is a Foundation-wide investment pursued
in cooperation with state governments that helps to
broaden U.S. capabilities in science, engineering,
and technology. In FY 1998, NSF funding for EPSCoR
totals more than $38 million. Improved linkages between
EPSCoR and other NSF-supported research and education
activities is expected to result in an additional
$8-10 million in merit-reviewed research for EPSCoR
states. This funding is intended to enable researchers
and educators supported through EPSCoR to participate
more fully in other Foundation-wide activities.
Facility Investments
In keeping with its core purpose of advancing the frontiers
of science and engineering, NSF is acutely aware of
the need for major research platforms that support
the activities of a broad spectrum of researchers
and educators. FY 1998 will see the completion of
funding for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational
Wave Observatory (LIGO), maintain investments in facility
improvements at the South Pole, and initiate support
for the Polar Cap Observatory and the first phase
of the Millimeter Array.
Conclusion
I would like to close with just a brief comment on
NSF's efforts to improve our accountability - to Congress,
to the public, and to the research and education communities
that are our major constituencies. This budget was
prepared in accordance with our Strategic Plan. We
are now working to develop performance measurements
so that our next budget submission complies with the
Government Performance and Results Act. We are anxious
to have your views on the types of metrics that would
be most helpful to Congress in setting budget priorities.
NSF remains committed to enabling the highest possible
returns on the nation's investment in research and
education. The agency has traditionally maintained
a very low overhead rate and has received national
recognition for its commitment to efficiency and productivity.
This past December, for example, NSF became the first
Federal agency to receive the prestigious National
Information Infrastructure Award, which recognizes
innovative uses of the Internet and World Wide Web
in business, education, and government.
Today's budget realities require that every dollar
work harder and yield the highest possible dividends.
At the same time, the possibilities and opportunities
emerging across the spectrum of science and engineering
remind us that this is a truly remarkable era for
research and education in America. The investments
contained in this request will help ensure that our
nation gains full benefit from these emerging opportunities
- and that the future brings greater progress and
prosperity to all Americans.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to discuss
some of the highlights of our budget request. I would
be pleased to respond to any questions that you or
members of the committee might have.
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