at universities—some $26 million worth in fiscal 
year 1978.”° 
There are no reliable statistics on the number of 
marine-oriented graduate students who have received 
part of their training—and financial support as well 
—by working on ONR-sponsored projects. Nor is 
there any quantitative information on the degree to 
which ONR work has helped professors keep up with 
new developments, a factor which sometimes helps 
improve teaching and education. While ONR no 
longer plays the pivotal role it once did, its contri- 
bution continues to be significant. 
National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Created in 1950) as a result of the postwar faith 
in the value of basic research and a desire for a 
civilian focus : for such work, NSF is assigned the task 
of improving both science and science education. 
Managed jointly by a National Science Board and a 
Director, NSF is now the Nation’s major source of 
basic research support and non-biomedical fellow- 
ships and traineeships. In fiscal year 1978 the Foun- 
dation will spend about $14.7 million on the fellow- 
ship and traineeship programs, supporting about 
1,800 graduate and postdoctoral students.*° There 
is no “quota” regarding how many of these fellow- 
ships go to marine students or indeed to people in 
any particular field. Yet, historically, less than $1 
million a year of this money has gone to students 
working on marine studies. 
NSF research programs, however, are aggregated 
by the various scientific fields. Marine programs are 
administered by the Foundation’s Office of Astrono- 
mical, Atmospheric, Earth and Ocean Sciences. With 
an estimated fiscal year 1978 budget of $58.9 million, 
the Office’s Ocean Sciences Program is the principal 
supporter of academic basic oceanographic research, 
U.S. participation in the International Decade of 
Ocean Exploration (IDOE), and the Nation’s acad-: 
emic research fleet. The general oceanography and 
IDOE programs supported 298 graduate students 
in FY 1972, 298 in FY 1973, 326 in FY 1974, 401 
in FY 1975, and 389 in FY 1976.27 
In addition to these programs oriented toward 
research and graduate training, NSF also operates 
a program for undergraduate student-originated 
studies, one for undergraduate participation in uni- 
versity research, and the Chautauqua-type courses 
for upgrading the teaching skills of college professors. 
* Telephone conversation with the Office of the Naval Ocean- 
ographer, November 18, 1977. 
*U,.S., National Science Foundation. FY 1978 Budget in Brief 
to the Congress, in U.S. Congress, House, Department of Hous- 
ing and Urban Development—Independent Agencies Appropria- 
tions for 1978, Hearings before subcommittee of Committee on 
Appropriations, 95th Congress, 1st session, 1977, part 1, pp. 
813-814. 
Personal communication with Lauriston R. King, NSF, 
November 23, 1977. 
All three programs cover the full range of the sci- 
ences and basic engineering, including marine topics. 
While the university marine community would 
like more funding for these marine training and re- 
search programs, there appears to be little criticism 
of how NSF organizes and operates them. To the 
extent that there are political controversies, they deal 
with NSF operations in general, such as criticisms of 
the Foundation’s peer-review system for judging and 
awarding funds. 
Sea Grant 
The Sea Grant ee was” created in 1966 by 
for Sacaiion ‘esearch, and. advisory, services related 
to the development of marine resources. The pro- 
gram was created to meet a perceived need for fur- 
ther applied research and education-in the marine 
field. The 1966 Act assigned Sea Grant to NSF, but 
the program was transferred to the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when 
NOAA was created in 1970 by Presidential Reor- 
ganization Plan No. 4. The basic Sea Grant Act was 
rewritten and updated by the Sea Grant Program Im- 
provement Act of 1976 (Public Law 94—641).5 
Sea Grant is a matching funds program, where 
Federal money is matched by State and private sup- 
port. It also provides funds to institutions rather than 
directly to individual researchers, as NSF and most 
other Federal research agencies do. Schools which 
have developed as centers of excellence in marine 
matters can be designated “Sea Grant colleges; EG 
while this designation does not guarantee a school” 
continued funding from the national office, in practice 
these schools have received relatively steady funding, 
enabling them to establish stable long-term opera- 
tions. 
During its early years, the program grew. ay 
institutions Estimated Federal funds for fiscal eat 
1978 a re_$27,767,000 which will provide about 60> 
percent_of the funds for Sea Grant efforts around 
the country; States and private groups will provide 
the rest.?° 
To date, 12 institutions have been designated as 
Sea Grant colleges: Oregon State and Texas A&M 
universities; the universities of California, Delaware, 
\ Hawaii, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, 
\ 
» 
U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA. Sea Grant Annual 
Report, July 1, 1975 to September 30, 1976. Washington, D.C., 
Government Printing Office, 1977. For an introduction to Sea 
Grant see: National Advisory Committee on Oceans and At- 
mosphere. The National Sea Grant Program: A Review. Wash- 
ington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1976. 
*” U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Appropriations. De- 
partments of State, Commerce, Justice, and the Judiciary, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations for 1978, Hearings Before a 
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. 95th Con- 
gress, Ist session, part 4, p. 220. 
VUI-11 
