"National Science Foundation Initiatives for FY
2003"
Dr. Rita R. Colwell
Director
National Science Foundation
The Engineering Deans Council Public Policy Colloquium
National Academy of Engineering
Washington, D.C.
February 12, 2002
See also slide presentation.
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please contact
The Office of Legislative and Public Affairs: (703)
292-8070.
Thank you very much, David, for that kind introduction.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the goals
and recent accomplishments of the National Science
Foundation, and our efforts on behalf of the engineering
community.
Our world has changed dramatically since September
11, and our nation's resources, particularly in science
and engineering, must be tapped to respond to these
new threats.
We must maintain a broad perspective so that all of
our knowledge and resources can be used most effectively.
As Dean Gordon Brown of MIT stated in 1962, "Engineering
is not merely knowing and being knowledgeable, like
a walking encyclopedia ... engineering is practicing
the art of the organized forcing of technological
change ... Engineers operate at the interface between
science and society..."
[NEW Title slide]
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As our national perspectives and objectives change,
they will be reflected in budget priorities. Right
now, there is a strong focus on marshalling the nation's
resources on homeland security.
As President Bush said in his recent State of the Union
address, our resources are plentiful, our people are
able, and our commitment is strong - and these must
guide us towards an even stronger and safer United
States.
NSF has always been a fundamental resource for security
- for more than 50 years, researchers funded by NSF
have been pursuing the discoveries that have advanced
materials development, computer technology, genomic
techniques, and other fields.
[Sensors collage]
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Presently, we are supporting the engineering community
in developing the next generation of biological and
chemical sensors - early warning devices that will
be portable, inexpensive, and effective against terrorist
threats.
[Nanotechnology]
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One promising example is the silicon polymer nanowire
- 2000 times thinner than human hair. These wires
may soon be used to detect traces of picric acid and
TNT in air and water, cheaply and effectively hunting
for bombs and land mines.
And these efforts are not new. When September 11th
struck, NSF engineers and scientists were principal
players in our nation's response.
[Robots slide]
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NSF-supported engineers developed the shoebox-sized
robots that enabled rescue workers to search for victims
in the World Trade Center rubble.
[Structural engineering
slide]
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Our Small Grant for Exploratory Research, or SGER,
awards enabled structural engineers to analyze the
Trade Center debris and simulate the dynamics of the
explosive attacks.
The researchers are determining what structures and
safety systems failed and how to design next generation
structures that will not fail.
NSF-supported social scientists are analyzing the coordination
and communications of the emergency, medical, law
enforcement and military responders, finding best
practices for potential future crises.
In addition, the National Tragedy Study - a University
of Chicago survey supported by NSF and private foundations
- found that Americans responded with resilience to
the events of Sept. 11.
As a nation, we responded with a great increase
in national pride, confidence in our institutions,
and faith in our people.
[Bacillus anthracis]
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NSF has also supported research to sequence the genome
of the Bacillus anthracis strain that was used as
a weapon, killing five American citizens last year.
NSF's new biocomplexity efforts will further our efforts
to sequence microbial genomes, while our ecology of
infectious diseases initiative will allow us to determine
how microbial communities develop and determine factors
associated with the incidence and distribution of
pathogens in the environment.
Both programs will enable us to fight infectious diseases
with a broad understanding of ecological principles
governing microbial communities.
[NEON slide]
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One of the most exciting and critical new programs
is the National Ecological Observatory Network, or
NEON.
Our Engineering Directorate, with other Directorates
at NSF, will support NEON - a distributed network
of biological, chemical, meteorological, atmospheric,
and other sensor arrays - including nucleic acid profiling
of microbial communities in water, soil, and air.
The arrays will be located in representative eco-regions,
including near cities, and will transmit data in real
time to scientists located across the nation.
Most critically, biological and chemical threats will
be detectable by the network, not just telling us
where and when a threat is occurring, but also whether
there is a real danger or merely a perceived danger.
Bacillus anthracis exists naturally in soil, and NEON
would have the capability of recognizing whether detection
of this bacterium results from normal background levels
or a terrorist attack.
[Cyberterrorism slide]
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One facet of cyberterrorism is the threat to cell phone
and emergency communication, water systems, electrical
grids, and even - as we have already seen on a smaller
scale - access to the internet.
Prior to 9/11, NSF had begun a program on critical
research in cybersecurity, e.g. the CyberSecurity
Education and Research Center for Western Pennsylvania,
West Virginia, and Ohio. These efforts will be significantly
expanded.
Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Chairman of
the House Science Committee, recently proposed the
Cyber Security Research and Development Act, H.R.
3394.
Co-sponsored by Ralph M. Hall (D-Texas), the bill passed
the House. It directs the NSF to create additional
cybersecurity research centers, graduate fellowships,
undergraduate program grants, and community college
grants, all within the purview of NSF.
In a recent op/ed in The Hill outlining his proposal,
Boehlert summed up our community's priorities succinctly:
"Just as it took the greatest scientific minds and
technological advances to win World War II and the
Cold War," he says, "the success of America's "New
War" will be measured not only on the battlefield
but also in the laboratory."
Fundamental to all of these efforts is a well-trained
workforce capable of answering the current threats
and envisioning solutions for threats we have yet
to imagine.
An educated society is critical not just for developing
technology, but for supporting that development, both
by the public and by government.
This year's NSF budget provides $78 million in support
of education and career development programs for Engineering.
[Student Research]
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One of the increases that has been long overdue is
a boost for annual graduate stipends.
The increase to $25,000 per year will allow us to attract
the best engineers and scientists, not only into research,
but into the education-oriented goals of the Graduate
Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education and the Integrative
Graduate Education and Research Traineeships.
Initiatives such as the Research Experience for Undergraduates
program, bring young engineers and scientists into
the lab at an early stage.
As the great Chinese philosopher Confucious stated
roughly 2500 years ago "Choose a job you love, and
you will never have to work a day in your life." At
NSF, we take such words to heart.
The Bridges for Engineering Education program brings
Engineering and Education colleges and schools within
a University together to restructure curricula - ensuring
that undergraduates are aware, early on, of what engineering
careers are available.
NSF supports a variety of teacher enrichment programs.
The Research Experience for Teachers program, which
partners engineering and science PIs at universities
with high school teachers, giving the teachers access
to research labs and professionals will be increased
by $1.5 million.
[ADVANCE slide]
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NSF supports engineers as they progress through their
careers, and not only through project-specific grants.
This year we have doubled the funding of ADVANCE, a
program designed to increase the representation and
advancement of women in academic engineering and science
careers.
ADVANCE offers three types of awards. Fellows Awards
assist promising researchers who had to leave the
academic community to fulfill family obligations,
such as child-rearing or elder-care responsibilities,
or the relocation of a spouse.
The award allows the researcher to establish, or re-establish,
their career after a crippling hiatus.
Institutional Transformation Awards enable research
institutions to develop procedures for bringing women
faculty into the leadership ranks of engineering and
science.
By supporting the groundwork necessary to transform
institutional practices, these awards create positive,
sustainable, and permanent change in academic environments.
Finally, Leadership Awards will recognize contributions
made by organizations or individuals towards the participation
of women in engineering and science careers, and will
allow awardees to both initiate new activities and
maintain existing ones.
At a recent address at the AAAS, the President's science
advisor, John Marburger, specifically emphasized the
importance of engineers in the fight against bioterrorism
and the protection of homeland security.
The President has made it clear that in this time of
crisis, research must be clearly defined and have
targeted goals.
President Bush's vision for reforming and improving
government is shaped by three simple principles:
- First, government must be citizen-centered, not
bureaucracy centered.
- Second, it must be results-oriented.
- And finally, it must be market-based -- namely,
innovation should be actively promoted through
competition.
When it comes to better research and development criteria,
the President has put performance squarely in the
spotlight in the years ahead.
His aim is to ensure that every Federal R&D dollar
is invested as effectively as possible. The Office
of Management and Budget has made it clear that a
well-directed R&D portfolio must demonstrate measurable
progress towards the portfolio's strategic goals,
without necessarily expecting success from each and
every project. In order to promote U.S. leadership
across the science and engineering spectrum, this
Administration believes that these investment criteria
will better focus publicly-funded research programs
on performance.
Applied research programs must be better focused on
achieving well-defined practical outcomes. And basic
research programs must better target improving the
quality and relevancy of their research.
That is why the National Science Foundation has been
commended. It is because our priority areas reflect
our objectives of maintaining excellence, maximizing
effectiveness, and minimizing costs.
In short, when the day is done, it's the results that
count.
As an agency, we operate with extraordinary efficiency,
with only 5 % of our annual budget going towards administration
and overhead.
That means that last year, 95% of our $5 billion budget
went directly to the engineers, scientists, educators,
students and institutions that drive technology forward
in our nation.
I am proud to report that OMB Director Daniels has
been making special mention of the Foundation's effective
financial management, including a speech at the National
Press Club over a month ago.
This was reaffirmed when NSF was singled out for recognition
as the only federal agency on the President's Executive
Branch Management Scorecard to receive the "green"
score - the highest mark - for our financial management
efforts.
OMB has recognized NSF's efforts to embrace advanced
information technologies, and operate in a "paperless"
environment.
They also recognized that our grant workload more than
doubled from $2.1 billion in 1990 to $4.4 billion
in 2000, yet the number of employees actually decreased.
Our FY 2003 Budget Request ensures that we can maintain
the high quality and performance by providing an additional
67 new employees.
Our proposed Fiscal Year 2003 budget reflects this
growing awareness of the fundamental nature of technological
and scientific research for national progress and
defense.
[Budget changes: total]
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This year, I am very pleased to report, even in these
tight financial times, our total budget request will
be $5.036 billion, an increase of 5% or $240 million
over current levels.
[Budget by appropriation]
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As you can see from the appropriations, both research
and education funding have been increased. The request
builds on NSF's strength as the only federal agency
devoted to promoting basic research and education
at all levels and across all fields of science and
engineering.
[Math and Science
Partnerships]
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The Math and Science Partnership Program, a fundamental
component of the President's education policy, has
been increased to $200 million, 25% above last year.
The program links teachers and students at underserved
preK-12 schools with universities, bridging a gap
in our nation's educational infrastructure.
[Automated under-ice
vehicle]
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The Climate Change Research Initiative is part of the
Administration's new multi-agency initiative to advance
understanding in highly focused areas of climate science,
to reduce uncertainty, and to facilitate policy decisions.
$15 million has been provided for the first year of
the initiative.
[Priority areas]
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In addition to a balanced portfolio of core investments,
NSF identifies and supports emerging opportunities
that hold exceptional promise.
[Information Technology]
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NSF's Information Technology Research - now entering
its fourth year - will support large-scale, safer
networks; create advanced architectures for high-end
computing; and integrate information technology into
classrooms.
[Mathematics slide]
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Mathematics has become indispensable in fields as diverse
as biology, sociology, climate, and proteomics. We
propose to invest $60 million as part of a new priority
area in mathematical and statistical sciences - doubling
our FY 2002 budget.
[Learning for the
21st Century]
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$185 million will be directed toward NSF's Learning
for the 21st Century Workforce, including $20 million
to fund new multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional
Science of Learning Centers for research into how
we learn and remember.
[Nanoscale]
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The emerging field of nanoscale science and engineering
-- the ability to manipulate and control matter at
atomic and molecular levels - promises revolutionary
breakthroughs.
Advances will come in areas such as materials and manufacturing,
medicine and healthcare, environment and energy, biotechnology
and agriculture, and national security.
Nano-structures are at the confluence of the smallest
of human-made devices and the large molecules of living
systems.
With them, we will be able to connect nanomachines
to individual human cells to target the delivery of
medicines or create materials nearly free of defects
and imperfections.
[Centers]
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In addition to continued support for projects such
as NEES, the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation,
and the Terascale Computing System - recently ranked
as the world's fastest university-based computer system
- the Budget supports two new programs, NEON and EarthScope.
The EarthScope program will assess and mitigate national
earthquake, volcano, and landslide risks through a
national earthquake detection and research network.
[Closing slide]
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Engineers and scientists have always responded to,
and shaped, national sentiments. Clearly, there are
many challenges ahead, and many exciting opportunities
to meet them.
In 1960, Columbia University engineer and educator
James Kip Finch very succinctly stated the task at
hand. He said, "The engineer has been, and is, a maker
of history."
I look forward to continued success as the National
Science Foundation and the engineering community,
together, make history.
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