responding to the needs and opportunities of sci- 

 ence, in the competence of the researchers it sup- 

 ports, and in the quahty of new generations of sci- 

 entists helped to enter their careers. 



Current and Future Research 

 Emphasis 



Advances in knowledge through basic research 

 tend to open up further questions to be answered 

 as do increasing complexities in national life. Some 

 of the new questions being asked will be discussed 

 in the program subsections. They show that basic 

 research supported by the Foundation will be con- 

 cerning itself with such diverse topics as enhance- 

 ment of earthquake resistance in structures, laser 

 chemistry, the origins of the universe, the physical 

 processes governing climate, manmade contamina- 

 tion of stratospheric ozone, resource potentials of 

 the ocean floor, the influence of deep sea orga- 

 nisms on the productivity of the oceans, the 

 enhancement of biological fixation of nitrogen, 

 preparation of new homogeneous catalysts, com- 

 munications use of the channel capacity in the visi- 

 ble spectrum, development of materials resistant 

 to corrosion and fracture, cell changes during 

 growth and development, how enzymes work, the 

 mechanisms by which genes are regulated, factors 

 controlling cognitive development, mechanisms of 

 sensory signal processing in the brain, and 

 continued pursuit of subatomic particles. 



Organization and Management of 

 Research Activities 



NSF is receptive to proposals for basic research 

 in all fields of science, including mathematics, 

 physics, chemistry, biology, behavioral sciences, 

 astronomy, atmospheric sciences, earth sciences, 

 oceanography, materials research, social sciences, 

 engineering, computer sciences and information 

 science, and multiple subfields. 



Typical duration of an award period is one or 

 two years, with renewal or extension possible. In 

 special cases, to provide reasonable assurance of 

 long-term support for continuing projects of high 

 scientific merit, the Foundation may award support 

 for up to five years. 



Proposals usually are initiated by the individual 

 scientists. Awards generally are made in response 

 to both solicited and unsolicited proposals. Usual- 

 ly, awards for unsolicited proposals are made on a 

 cost-sharing or jointly funded basis. Awards for 



solicited proposals may provide for payment of 

 full costs, including fees. 



Disposition of rights to data and inventions re- 

 sulting from Foundation-supported research is sub- 

 ject to negotiation. Factors to be considered are 

 the nature and purpose of the project and other 

 factors involving the public interest and commer- 

 cial positions of the awardees and any equities 

 they may have. At a minimum, the Government 

 will receive a royalty-free, paid-up license and, in 

 certain circumstances, the right to require the li- 

 censing of others on reasonable terms. 



Management Structure for Research Support 

 Functions 



At the top of the NSF structure are the Director 

 and the National Science Board. (The law, in fact, 

 says they are the Foundation). The Board is the 

 policymaking body, and has 25 members including 

 the Director ex-officio. The Director and Board 

 members are appointed by the President and con- 

 firmed by the Senate for six-year terms. The terms 

 of Board members are staggered so that the terms 

 of one-third of the membership expire every two 

 years. 



The Deputy Director and four Assistant Direc- 

 tors are also appointed by the President and con- 

 firmed by the Senate. There are currently three 

 other Assistant Directors who are appointed by the 

 Director. Assistant Directors head the functional 

 Directorates among which most of the work of the 

 Foundation is divided. There are three Director- 

 ates primarily concerned with support of basic re- 

 search, and which account for most of the re- 

 search support in basic research discussed herein. 

 Each is headed by an Assistant Director who is a 

 Presidential appointee; they are Mathematical and 

 Physical Sciences and Engineering; Biological, 

 Behavioral, and Social Sciences; and Astronomi- 

 cal, Atmospheric, Earth, and Ocean Sciences. 

 Some of the other Directorates, including the Re- 

 search Applications Directorate, also include an 

 amount of support for basic research in their pro- 

 grams. 



More than 400 program managers and research 

 administrators expert in their fields develop the 

 program plans of the Foundation. The program 

 managers assess the needs and opportunities in 

 their areas, and in this process, draw information 

 from professional societies, the National Acade- 

 mies of Sciences and Engineering, contacts with 

 thousands of scientists across the country, mem- 

 bers of the Foundation's program panels, and the 

 thousands of ad hoc reviewers. They also gain a 

 view of the patterns of Federal science support 

 programs from their colleagues in other agencies. 



A major role in the program development pro- 

 cess is performed by the National Science Board. 



NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 193 



