NSF FY 1999 Budget Request: Engineering and Geosciences

The National Science Foundation prepares a detailed budget request every year describing various programs. This, a previous, and following FYIs provide information from this document for areas that are part of FYI’s coverage. Two Activities are summarized below -- Engineering and Geosciences:

ENGINEERING ACTIVITY:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for Engineering is $400.55 million, an increase of $42.58 million, or 11.9 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $357.97 million.”

Within the Engineering Activity are six Subactivities:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Bioengineering & Environmental Systems Subactivity is $35.69 million, an increase of $6.85 million, or 23.8 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $28.84 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Chemical and Transport Systems Subactivity is $46.63 million, an increase of $4.60 million, or 10.9 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $42.03 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Civil and Mechanical Systems Subactivity is $59.60 million, an increase of $6.50 million, or 12.3 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $53.1 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Design, Manufacture, and Industrial Innovation Subactivity is $107.78 million, an increase of $10.83 million, or 11.2 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $96.95 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Electrical and Communications Systems Subactivity is $48.92 million, an increase of $5.55 million, or 12.80 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $43.37 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Engineering Education and Centers Subactivity is $102.03 million, an increase of $8.25 million, or 8.8 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan Estimate of $93.78 million.”

Under “Research Project Support” the budget document states: “More than 90 percent of the ENG [Engineering] budget is used to provide grants to individuals, small groups, and centers of researchers focused across many engineering fields. About 2,800 awards are made each year, with an average (annualized) award size of about $80,000, and a duration of about 2.0 years.” “In FY 1999, Research Project Support increases by $35.96 million to $359.72 million. The increase enables ENG to implement efforts to address long-standing concerns about grant sizes by increasing the average size and the duration of the awards and providing more support for researchers, with particular attention to new investigators. These efforts will also contribute to increasing the efficiency of the Foundation’s merit review process and achieving greater cost-effectiveness for both the NSF and the university community.”

GEOSCIENCES ACTIVITY:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Geosciences Activity (GEO) is $507.31 million, an increase of $52.2 million, or 11.5 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $455.11 million.”

Within the Geosciences Activity are three Subactivities:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Atmospheric Sciences Subactivity is $170.22 million, an increase of $16,400,000 or 10.7 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $153.82 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Earth Sciences Subactivity is $106.70 million, an increase of $11.57 million, or 12.2 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $95.13 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Ocean Sciences Subactivity is $230.39 million, an increase of $24.23 million, or 11.8 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $206.16 million.”

The budget document states: “Almost two-thirds of GEO’s funding is directed toward research project support in all GEO disciplinary areas. Over 1,000 awards are made each year, with an average annual award size of approximately $79,600 and a duration of 2.4 years.” “Priorities for FY 1999 include increased support for the U.S. Weather Research Program, the National Space Weather Program, Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and several programs associated with the U.S. Global Change Research Program, including Earth System History, Global Tropospheric Chemistry, and Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics. Support will be maintained for ongoing programs in coastal ocean processes and environmental geochemistry and biogeochemistry. In FY 1999, GEO will implement efforts to address Foundation-wide concerns about grant sizes by increasing the average size and duration of the awards and providing more support for researchers, with particular attention to new investigators.”