Weird Science – The Inner Workings Of The National Science Foundation
Post by Dave Klein









The National Science Foundation is an independent government agency in the United States. The National Science Foundation is responsible for providing support to simple science investigation, which is primarily accomplished by means of study funding.
The National Science Foundation mostly gives investigation funding in the form of grants. These grants are most typically given in the form of individual grants to graduate students and professors. In reality, with an annual spending budget of roughly .5 billion, the National Science Foundation supplies about 20% of federally supported funding for standard study to America’s universities and colleges.
Under the leadership of its director, Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr., the National Science Board meets six occasions per year to figure out the policies of the National Science Foundation. The National Science Board consists of 24 members, all of which are appointed by the President of the United States to 6 year terms.
History of the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation was originally established as the result of the 1950 National Science Foundation Act. The mission of the National Science Foundation, as stated within this act, was “To promote the progress of science to advance the national well being, prosperity, and welfare and to secure the national defense.”
The National Science Foundation has competed with defense study agencies, such as the Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Air Force Workplace of Scientific Analysis, for funding. This battle for funding has led numerous science historians to claim that the National Science Foundation is an “inept compromise” between visions inside the federal government in regards to the scope and purpose of the foundation.
Programs of the National Science Foundation
Fields inside the National Science Foundation consist of: astronomy, physics, behavioral science, biology, chemistry, and personal computer science. Economic science, social sciences, science education, engineering, environmental science and education, polar analysis, geoscience, mathematics, and statistics are also fields covered by the National Science Foundation.
In addition to operating inside its typical fields, the National Science Foundation promotes a selection of unique programs. These programs are occasionally put into location in order to boost the participation of under-represented minorities in the sciences. The Investigation Expertise for Undergraduates plan, for example, targets minorities and girls. This plan gives grants to institutions in order to assist them in supplying opportunities for summer research to undergraduate students.
In addition, the GK-12 Crosscutting Program was established by the National Science Foundation to provide universities with funds to encourage graduate students to interact with k-12 students. The aim of this plan is to improve science retention in youngsters at an early age.
The National Science Foundation also funds projects on a national scale. One such project is the National Science Digital Library. Also, the National Science Foundation helps pay for the establishment of the Materials Study Science and Engineering Centers that are situated in some study universities.
Space exploration and the National Science Foundation
At occasions, there is conflict in between the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This is due to the fact both agencies strive to enhance expertise regarding the universe, space, and the human body. Neither, nonetheless, wants to pay a lot more than its fair share for this investigation. Furthermore, clear guidelines concerning which agency is responsible for which aspects of the fields have not been established.
Currently, the two agencies have developed a truce of sorts. Under the unofficially structured guidelines, NASA is responsible for paying form space based operations. These incorporate projects such as Chandra, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The National Science Foundation, on the other hand, funds ground based operations. These consist of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the Atacama Big Millimeter Array, and Kitt Peak.


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