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RESEARCH FACILITIES 



The National Science Foundation provides support for large, multi-user facilities which meet the need for 

 access to state-of-the-art research facilities that would otherwise be unavailable Support includes funding 

 for staff and support personnel to assist both internal and external scientists in conducting research at the 

 facilities. Support for these unique national facilities is essential to advance U S research capabilities 

 required for world-class research 



NSF's support of facilities, generally operated and partly supported by universities, contributes to all the 

 goals of the NSF strategic plan by providing physical and institutional capabilities necessary 



• for scientists and engineers to carry out cutting-edge research across a broad spectrum of scientific 

 and engineering fields, 



• to promote the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in service to society as exemplified by 

 fields such as materials science, computing and communications science, and environmental science, 



• for graduate and undergraduate science, mathematics and engineering students to acquire skills to 

 perform world class research. 



The activity reflects NSF strategies by strengthening physical infrastructure for the conduct of research, 

 developing scientific and engineering intellectual capital, integrating research and education, and 

 promoting partnerships in the US science and engineering research system 



NSF supports the following facilities: 



(Millions of Dollars) 



FY 1995 FY 1996 FY 1997 



Actual Estimate Request 



Advanced Scientific Computing Facilities 72 69 71 



NSFNET 46 44 44 



National Center for Atmospheric Research 59 59 62 



National Astronomy Centers 65 64 67 



Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory 85 70 70 



National High Magnetic Field Laboratory 12 18 18 



Gemini Observatories 41 4 5 



National Nanofabrication Users Network 4 4 4 



Academic Research Fleet/Ship Operations 49 47 48 



Academic Research Infrastructure 59 50 



Polar Science Operations & Logistics 167 163 168 



South Pole Safety Project - - 25 



Other Facilities 1 83 74 80 



TOTAL $742 $664 $661 



' Other facilities include physics, materials research, ocean sciences, atmospheric sciences, and earth sciences facilities 



The FY 1997 Request for Facilities totals $661 million, a $3 million decrease from the FY 1996 Estimate 

 and $81 million below the FY 1995 level. US funding for construction of the Gemini 8-meter telescopes 

 was completed in FY 1995 Support for Gemini in FY 1996 and FY 1997 is for preliminary operations only 

 The Academic Research Infrastructure program is terminated in FY 1997, and no further funding for this 

 activity is requested In FY 1997, NSF plans to provide $25 million for the South Pole Safety Project 



