The broad field mix of Federally supported academic R&D has fluctuated, but shifts among major science and 

 engineering areas have generally been slow and evolutionary (Figure 13). The life sciences have long been dominant, 

 and have increased their share of the Federal total from 52 percent in the early 1970s to 56 percent in 1990. En- 

 gineering and the physical sciences have fluctuated between 12 and 14 percent of the total, environmental sciences 

 between 6 and 8 percent, and mathematics and computer sciences between 3 and 4 percent. An exception to this 

 general picture is the social sciences, whose share fell from 7 percent to 2 percent between 1973 and 1990. 



The Federal government puts relatively more emphasis than other funders on the physical sciences, mathe- 

 matics, computer sciences, and environmental sciences (Figure 14). The life sciences occupy about the same relative 

 position in Federal and aggregate non-Federal sources. Engineering and, especially, the social sciences receive rela- 

 tively less funding emphasis from Federal as compared to other funding sources. 



Figure 13: Distribution of Federal Academic K&U 

 by Field of Science 



100% 



T)lher Sciences 



80% - 



40% 



20% 



0% 



Life .Sciences 



1(10% 



80'^ 



60% 



40?. 



20% 



1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 198990 

 Source: NaUonal Scleoce PouDdaUon (see r«lerence 13) 



0% 



Figure 14: Relative Emphasis of Federal Academic R&D, 1990: 

 Ratio of Field Share of Federal to Field Share of Nonfederal Kuruls 



Ratio Federal Z / Nonfederal % 

 0.5 I 



Physical Science 



MaUiemalics and 

 Computer Science 



Rnvironntenlal 



Life Science 



Engineering 



Social Science 



1.5 



2 5 



05 1 15 2 25 



Ratio >l indicates relatively freater share ol Federal ttian of Qoo-Federal funds to given field 

 Source: National Sclenca Foundation (ace reference M) 



Three agencies — The National Institutes of 

 Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation 

 (NSF), and the Department of Defense (DOD) — 

 have provided roughly three-quarters of the 

 Federal government's academic R&D funding 

 (Figure 15). NIH by itself has provided 40 to 45 

 percent of the total, with DOD and NSF shares 

 roughly equal during much of the 1 980s. In recent 

 years, the shares of DOD, NIH, and the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture (USDA) have declined some- 

 what, but overall, the picture is one of a fairly 

 steady funding pattern. 



Agencies deal with universities in their in- 

 dividual ways, depending on mission, tradition, 

 types of research, and other factors, as detailed in 

 the Agency Perspectives section of this report. One 

 feature of this diversity in relationships is the rela- 

 tive prominence of universities as performers of 

 the different agencies' research, i.e., excluding 

 development. Some agencies, like NSF and NIH, 

 have the bulk of their research conducted by 



Figure 15: Agency Shares of Federal Academic R&D Support 



All other age ncies 

 Department DT ~Agricutturg ~ ~ 



0% 



iUSA_ 



Department of Defense 



National Institutes of Health 



_i I ■ I 



_i I i_ 



1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 90 



Source National Science Foundation (see reference 15) 



20 



