The Ntionl Science Foundtion (NSF) is n independent federl gency creted by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to dvnce the ntionl helth, prosperity, nd welfre; to secure the ntionl defense…” With n nnul budget of bout $7.0 billion (FY 2012), we re the funding source for pproximtely 20 percent of ll federlly supported bsic reserch conducted by meric’s colleges nd universities. In mny fields such s mthemtics, computer science nd the socil sciences, NSF is the mjor source of federl bcking.NSF is tsked with keeping the United Sttes t the leding edge of discovery in wide rnge of scientific res, from stronomy to geology to zoology. So, in ddition to funding reserch in the trditionl cdemic res, the gency lso supports “high risk, high py off” ides, novel collbortions nd numerous projects tht my seem like science fiction tody, but which the public will tke for grnted tomorrow. nd in every cse, we ensure tht reserch is fully integrted with eduction so tht tody’s revolutionry work will lso be trining tomorrow’s top scientists nd engineers.
