National Science Foundation

In FY09, the National Science Foundation received $6.49 billion, a 5.9 percent increase of $363 million over FY08. More than three-fourths of the total supports non-defense research and related activities, 13 percent will be for education and human resources, and 2.3 percent of the total is for major research equipment and facilities construction.

While the omnibus bill does not specify the funds going towards the various research components within the NSF, it mentions by name certain projects and their levels of funding:

• The EPSCoR program is appropriated $133 million, of which $70 million is to go towards track 1 research infrastructure improvement awards. Additionally, the NSF is directed to provide no less than $600 million for investments and activities in the 26 ESPCoR jurisdictions.
• $102 million for the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP).
• $82.3 million for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility in Chile.
• $51.4 million for the AdvLigo project to improve the detection of gravitational waves.
• $49.8 million for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).
• $11.3 million for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory to be installed at the South Pole.
• $7.0 million to construct the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST).

In the $845 million for education and human resources, some of the highlighted programs in the omnibus budget act include:

• $87.5 million for undergraduate and graduate support programs, including $42.5 million for the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation, $31.5 million for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, and $13.5 million for the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
• $55 million for the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program to recruit and support mathematics and science undergraduate students and postgraduate professionals to become K-12 teachers. This amount is $43.4 million higher (a 374.1 percent increase) than requested in the FY09 budget.