Media Advisory 11-027

Listening to the future in the SBE sciences

November 29, 2011

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) recently invited researchers to help identify fundamental questions that will drive social science research for the next 10-to-20 years--research they believe could benefit society.

After receiving more than 250 whitepapers from social, behavioral and economic scientists in 40 states, the District of Columbia and six countries, a newly released report answers questions about future social science programmatic priorities at NSF and it could shape federal funding for social science research for decades to come.

• Which fields of study do social scientists think will have the most positive impact in the coming years?
• What are the National Science Foundation's strategies for supporting fundamental social and behavioral science research for the next decade?
• How can researchers study behavior by looking at the massive amounts of data now available about people without invading people's privacy?
• How might the social and behavioral sciences address global issues such as population change, aging and migration, or the financial crises in Europe, America and Asia?
• What do social scientists say might be revealed by the relationships among brain, behavior, communication and learning?

Please join NSF Assistant Director for SBE Myron Gutmann on Thursday at 11 a.m. for an NSF webcast to discuss the "Mosaic Report," which describes these efforts and lays out broad programmatic strategies. The webcast, "Rebuilding the Mosaic: Listening to the Future in the SBE Sciences," addresses pivotal questions researchers say are both transformative and foundational to the future of SBE research.

Members of the social science research community also are invited to participate by email.

Who:	Myron Gutmann, NSF assistant director for SBE
What:	Live teleconference and webcast for journalists and members of the social science community
When:	Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, 11 a.m. ET.
Where:	Media are invited to participate in the webcast on the phone or online via the Science360 website. (Note: the URL will only be live during the event.) Please contact webcast@nsf.gov for phone number and passcode information.

NSF is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.  Gutmann has been the assistant director for SBE since fall of 2009.

Media are encouraged to direct questions before and during the webcast to webcast@nsf.gov.

-NSF-

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Media Contacts
Bobbie Mixon, NSF, (703) 292-8485, email: bmixon@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Amy Friedlander, NSF, (703) 292-2262, email: afriedla@nsf.gov

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The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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