Bush's Budget Would Boost NSF's by 8%

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2006 -- President Bush's budget for fiscal year 2007 requests $6.02 billion for the National Science Foundation -- an increase of $439 million or 7.9 percent over fiscal year 2006. The increase reflects a 10-year budget-doubling effort for NSF as part of the president's American Competitiveness Initiative to improve US math and science education, which he announced in his State of the Union address last week.

The NSF appropriation is part of Bush's 2.77 trillion budget plan for FY2007, which now awaits Congressional approval. The FY2007 request for the NSF includes:

$2.9 billion (up 6.1 percent) for discoveries across the frontiers of science and engineering;

$1.68 billion (up 13.2 percent) for cutting-edge science and engineering facilities, tools and other infrastructure;

and $1.07 billion (up 3.8 percent) aimed at tapping the potential of those underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce -- especially minorities, women and the disabled -- and on ensuring a strong capability and global competitiveness in science and engineering across all regions of the country.

To engage the scientific and engineering communities in identifying the most promising directions and best researchers, NSF proposes to increase investments in research and related activities by $334 million or 7.7 percent. Among the highlights are $35 million (up $10 million from FY2006) for research to ensure computers, networks and underlying infrastructures can be relied on; $904 million (up $93 million) for networking and information technology research and development; $373 million (up $29 million) for the National Nanotechnology Initiative and $205 million (up $8 million) for the Climate Change Science Program.

The nanotechnology intitiative investment includes $65 million for Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams. These awards encourage team approaches to address nanoscale research and education themes that require a synergistic blend of expertise.

NSF will invest $20 million in fundamental research on new technologies for sensors and sensor systems to improve the detection of explosives as well as integrate data with information available from other fields and sensing systems.

As the lead agency for activities recognizing the International Polar Year, NSF proposes a first-year investment of $62 million in research and infrastructure activities to address major challenges in polar research.

Coordinated with activities in the interagency plans for research on the physics of the universe, NSF will expand its investment in elementary particle physics by $10 million to total $15 million to exploit opportunities for discovery in the nature of matter, energy, space and time.

The NSF says it will also fund major research equipment and facilities construction, cyberinfrastructure R&D, programs to teach teachers and students more skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and graduate teaching fellowships.

For more information, visit: www.nsf.gov