states. The objective is to contribute to the nation’s science enterprise by funding
education, research and public engagement projects through a national network of
university-based Space Grant consortia.
Specific goals include:
• Establish and maintain a national network of universities.
• Encourage cooperative programs among universities, aerospace industry,
and federal, state and local governments.
• Encourage interdisciplinary education, research and public service.
• Recruit and train U.S. citizens, especially women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities.
• Promote a strong science, mathematics and technology education base from
elementary through secondary levels.
Over the years, experiments flown on scientific balloons have helped to develop
future scientists. Section 10.2 will describe a few representative programs.
10.1.2 NSF
Like NASA, the National Science Foundation is an independent agency but with
a different approach and a much smaller budget. It is the only federal agency
whose mission includes supporting every field of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. It is tasked with keeping the U.S. at the leading edge of discovery in a wide range of scientific disciplines, from astronomy to
geology to zoology. In addition to funding traditional academic research, it also
supports “high risk, high pay off” ideas, novel collaborations, and numerous projects that may seem to be science fiction today, but which the public will take for
granted tomorrow. And in every case, NSF ensures that research is fully integrated
with education so that today’s revolutionary work will train tomorrow’s top scientists and engineers.
Unlike many other federal agencies, NSF does not hire researchers or directly
operate its own laboratories or similar facilities. Instead, it supports scientists,
engineers and educators directly through their own home institutions, typically
universities and colleges. Similarly NSF funds facilities and equipment such as
telescopes by way of cooperative agreements with research consortia that have
competed successfully for limited-term management contracts. NSF’s job is to
identify where the frontiers lie, identify the leading U.S. pioneers, and provide
funding and equipment to help them continue.
In addition, NSF accounts for about one-fourth of federal support to academic
institutions for basic research by way of grants and cooperative agreements to
over 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations right across the U.S.
NSF promotes and funds education in the following ways:
10.1 Funding Sources 233
education, research and public engagement projects through a national network of
university-based Space Grant consortia.
Specific goals include:
• Establish and maintain a national network of universities.
• Encourage cooperative programs among universities, aerospace industry,
and federal, state and local governments.
• Encourage interdisciplinary education, research and public service.
• Recruit and train U.S. citizens, especially women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities.
• Promote a strong science, mathematics and technology education base from
elementary through secondary levels.
Over the years, experiments flown on scientific balloons have helped to develop
future scientists. Section 10.2 will describe a few representative programs.
10.1.2 NSF
Like NASA, the National Science Foundation is an independent agency but with
a different approach and a much smaller budget. It is the only federal agency
whose mission includes supporting every field of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. It is tasked with keeping the U.S. at the leading edge of discovery in a wide range of scientific disciplines, from astronomy to
geology to zoology. In addition to funding traditional academic research, it also
supports “high risk, high pay off” ideas, novel collaborations, and numerous projects that may seem to be science fiction today, but which the public will take for
granted tomorrow. And in every case, NSF ensures that research is fully integrated
with education so that today’s revolutionary work will train tomorrow’s top scientists and engineers.
Unlike many other federal agencies, NSF does not hire researchers or directly
operate its own laboratories or similar facilities. Instead, it supports scientists,
engineers and educators directly through their own home institutions, typically
universities and colleges. Similarly NSF funds facilities and equipment such as
telescopes by way of cooperative agreements with research consortia that have
competed successfully for limited-term management contracts. NSF’s job is to
identify where the frontiers lie, identify the leading U.S. pioneers, and provide
funding and equipment to help them continue.
In addition, NSF accounts for about one-fourth of federal support to academic
institutions for basic research by way of grants and cooperative agreements to
over 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations right across the U.S.
NSF promotes and funds education in the following ways:
10.1 Funding Sources 233