FY 1997 NSF Request: Physics Subactivity
The National Science Foundation supports physics research in a number of different programs, among them the Physics Subactivity, Materials Research Subactivity, Multidisciplinary Activities Subactivity, Astronomy Subactivity, and through various facility and education budgets.
The National Science Foundation budget request provides information for each of these subactivities. Information on the Physics Subactivity request, taken from the budget request submitted to Congress last week, follows:
“The FY 1997 Budget Request for the Physics Subactivity is $142.26 million, an increase of $11.38 million, or 8.7%, over the FY 1996 Estimate of $130.88 million.”
The Physics Subactivity request has two components: Physics Research Project Support and Facilities.
Physics Research Project Support would increase 8.1%, or $7.68 million, to $102.66 million. The request states: "...Physics Research project Support will provide increased support for atomic, molecular, optical, and plasma physics and for CUOS [Center for Ultrafast Optical Science at the University of Michigan]; for studies of complexity and non-linear phenomena; for multidisciplinary research; and for enhanced activities in undergraduate education and curriculum development. It also supports research activities pursuant to the Large Hadron Collider project, which will enable research opportunities at the very highest energy frontier and at the most fundamental level. A portion of this increase will also be allocated for the NSF-wide instrumentation program.”
Facilities spending would increase by 10.3%, or $3.70 million, to $39.60 million. The request states: “Part of the funding in FY 1996 for the upgrade of CESR [Cornell Electron Storage Ring] was provided by the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) Subactivity. In FY 1997, the Physics Subactivity will assume responsibility for this support, and will provide an additional $3.0 million for the continuation of this project. CESR provides important U.S. research opportunities in particle physics, materials research, the biological sciences, and other disciplines requiring synchrotron radiation light and particle detection.”
