energy of liquids, and fundamental to many in- 

 dustrial processes. 



Science Information 



The Foundation has statutory responsibility 

 under its own charter to foster interchange of sci- 

 entific information among scientists in the United 

 States and foreign countries and to act to further 

 the full dissemination of information of scientific 

 value. The National Defense Education Act of 

 1958 established the Science Information Service 

 in the Foundation, requiring that Office to take 

 steps for more effective dissemination and "'under- 

 take programs to develop new or improved meth- 

 ods, including mechanized systems, for making 

 scientific information available." Since then, an 

 extraordinary growth of information and extraordi- 

 nary advances in means of dissemination — notably 

 electronics and computers — have made individual 

 transmissions easier while making the total task of 

 dissemination ever more formidable. 



The Division of Science Information of NSF is 

 the only major source of funding in the United 

 States for research in ways to improve science 

 communication across all disciplines and fields. (It 

 is concerned also with technical information, but 

 the focus in this discussion is on scientific 

 information including that on basic research.) Re- 

 search in the Division is focused in four areas: 



Information science, user requirements, access 

 improvement, and management and coordination. 



Science Resources Studies 



The primary objective of this program is the 

 development of factual and analytical information 

 to provide the basis for national planning and poli- 

 cy formulation in the field of scientific and techni- 

 cal resources. Such studies provide, among other 

 things, sharp definition of the basic research sector 

 in terms of the human, financial, and institutional 

 resources available to it. The activities of the Divi- 

 sion of Science Resources Studies generate the 

 major portion of U.S. science resource statistics. 



Publications of the Division, many of them per- 

 iodicals, constitute a primary and continuing 

 source of detailed information for the Federal 

 Government and private and public research and 

 development institutions, as well as for the Foun- 

 dation. A biennial publication, titled Science Indi- 

 cators, designated in the years of issuance as an- 

 nual reports of the National Science Board, com- 

 piles the results of surveys and analysis together 

 within a single cover, offering illuminating text and 

 a wealth of reference material in the form of charts 

 and tables. The data and other analyses and inter- 

 pretation by the various parts of the Division give 

 insight also into current and long range science and 

 technology policy issues. 



DIRECTORATE FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION 



Stated informally, the principal aims of the Sci- 

 ence Education Directorate are first, to improve 

 the science education system through support of 

 institutions and individuals; and second, to foster 

 science literacy. 



Formally, and in more detail, the goals of the 

 Directorate's programs are: 



• Science personnel improvement. To identify 

 and encourage scientific talent; to assist in the 

 maintenance of high standards and quality in 

 the training of students and professionals in 

 the sciences; and to stimulate more participa- 

 tion in the sciences by minorities, women, 

 and the handicapped. 



• Science education resources improvement. To 

 strengthen and improve the quality of science 

 instruction and research training in schools, 

 colleges, and universities; and to provide in- 

 centives for the use of validated knowledge 

 and effective instructional strategies in sci- 

 ence education. 



• Science education development and research. 

 To advance knowledge of how scientific con- 



224 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 



cepts, processes, and skills are learned; and 

 to encourage the development of means by 

 which the quality, relevance, and efficacy of 

 learning processes in science can be im- 

 proved. 

 • Science and society. To bring about greater 

 understanding of science (and technology) as 

 it affects contemporary life including the so- 

 cial and ethical implications of an increasingly 

 technology-dependent society. 

 The Foundation has a responsibility under its 

 charter to strengthen science education at all lev- 

 els. The importance of research as part of the pro- 

 cess of education in science is recognized by pro- 

 grams of support for research at all levels, ranging 

 from first efforts by young students, which in some 

 cases they themselves originate and carry out. to 

 projects by students at the graduate and postdoc- 

 toral level, faculty fellowships, and programs for 

 faculty research participation in industrial labora- 

 tories and research institutes. 



It is one of the assumptions of the education 

 programs that young people seeking careers in 



