NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Introduction to: Jack Lightbody,

Introduction to:
NSF Directorate for Mathematical
and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Jack Lightbody,
Deputy Assistant Director, MPS
June 6, 2008
NSF in a Nutshell
• Mission: Promote Science, Advance national health, prosperity,
welfare, defense.
• Independent agency
• Supports basic research and education
• Uses grant mechanism in two forms
•Unsolicited, curiosity driven
•Solicited, more focused
• Peer reviews: intellectual merit & broader impact
• No intramural laboratories
• Supports large facilities
• Discipline-based structure
• Supports all fields of Science/Engineering
• Cross-disciplinary mechanisms (e.g. Nano)
NSF Organization
National Science
Board
Biological
Sciences
($612M)
Office of
Cyberinfrastructure
($185M)
Computer &
Information
Sci & Eng
($534M)
Office of
Polar
Programs
($442M)
Director
Deputy Director
Engineering
($683M)
Office of
Budget,
Finance
& Award
Management
GeoSciences
($746M)
Office of
Internation’l
Sci & Engr
($41M)
Mathematical
& Physical
Sciences
($1,167B)
Office of
Information
Resource
Management
Social,
Behavioral &
Economic
Sciences
($215M)
Office of
Integrated
Activities
($219M)
Education & Human Resources
($726M)
$’s are “FY08 estimates” from FY 2009 budget request
Top 5 Things to Know About MPS
Most extensive & diverse scientific portfolio
Largest budget: $1.167B FY08
Develops & supports major facilities
Diverse support modalities: small single PI
grants, group awards, centers/institutes,
major facilities
Internationally engaged
MPS Disciplines
• Astronomy
• Chemistry
Single
Investigators
& Groups
• Materials Research
• Mathematical Sciences
Centers,
Institutes
• Physics
• Multidisciplinary Activities
Facilities
Call for Reinvestment in STEM
•
Increase US talent pool
•
Strengthen basic research
•
Develop, recruit & retain best/brightest
•
Ensure innovation in America
•
From fundamental discoveries to marketable
technologies.
•
Facilities and instrumentation
•
World class science and engineering workforce
•
Focus on Phys Sci & Engineering
•
Doubles NSF, DOE-OS, NIST over 10 years
Innovation Resulting from
US Federally-Funded Research
Innovation
Funder
The Internet
Web Browser
Bar Codes
Fiber Optics
Routers
MRI
Doppler Radar
Speech Recognition
Nanotechnology
Computer Aided Design
…
DARPA/NSF
NSF
NSF
NSF
NSF
NIH/NSF
NSF
NSF/DARPA
NSF
NSF/DARPA
It’s up to you !
Source: Losing the Competitive Advantage? American Electronics Association, 2005.
OLPA-30
A Few Examples:
• Single molecule transistors (CHE)
• New, efficient catalysts for generating hydrogen (CHE)
• Invisibility ‘cloaking’ (DMS)
• Nano-surgery in a live cell using laser pulses (DMR)
• Mathematical solution for another dimension (DMS)
• Magnetic functional brain imaging (PHY)
o o o
(I left off discoveries w/large ‘facility-class’ instruments)
NSF Research & Related Activities
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009
Actual
Est.
Req.
Amnt.
$608.5
$612.0
$675.06
$63.04
10.3%
Computer and Information Science and
Engineering
526.7
534.5
638.76
104.23
19.5%
Engineering
630.0
636.9
759.33
122.46
19.2%
Geosciences
745.8
752.7
848.67
96.01
12.8%
1,150.7
1,167.3
1,402.67
235.36
20.2%
Social, Behavioral and Economic
Sciences
214.5
215.1
233.48
18.35
8.5%
Office of Cyberinfrastructure
182.4
185.3
220.08
34.75
18.8%
40.3
41.3
47.44
6.10
14.8%
Office of Polar Programs
438.4
442.5
490.97
48.43
10.9%
Integrative Activities2
219.4
232.3
276.00
43.73
18.8%
1.4
1.5
1.53
0.06
4.1%
$4,758.4 $4,821.5
$5,594.0
$772.5
16.0%
Biological Sciences
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Office of International
Science and
1
Engineering
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
Total, Research and Related Activities
FY 2008 Est.
%
MPS by Division
FY 2008
FY 2009
FY 2008 Estimate
Estimate
Request
Amount Percent
$215.39
$217.86
$250.01
$32.15
14.8%
Chemistry
191.22
194.22
244.67
50.45
26.0%
Materials Research
257.27
260.22
324.59
64.37
24.7%
Mathematical Sciences
205.74
211.79
245.70
33.91
16.0%
Physics
248.47
250.52
297.70
47.18
18.8%
32.64
32.70
40.00
7.30
22.3%
$1,150.73
$1,167.31
$1,402.67
$235.36
20.2%
($ millions)
Astronomical Sciences
Multidisciplinary Activities
Total, MPS
Strong support for MPS core,
but respecting ACI emphasis
MPS Science Themes
• Charting the evolution of the Universe from the Big Bang to habitable
planets and Beyond
• Understanding the fundamental nature of matter, energy, space, and time
• Creating molecules and materials that are transforming the 21st century
• Developing tools for discovery and innovation throughout science and
engineering
• Understanding how microscopic processes enable and shape the complex
behavior of the living world
• Discovering mathematical structures and promoting new connections
between mathematics and the sciences
• Conducting basic research that provides the foundation for our national
health, prosperity, and security
FY 2008 MPS Focus Areas
•
Physical sciences at the nanoscale
•
Science beyond “Moore’s Law”
•
Physics of the universe
•
Complex systems
•
Fundamental mathematical and statistical
science
•
Sustainability
•
Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation
FY 2009 MPS Focus Areas
•
Quantum information sciences
•
Life science interface
•
Adaptive systems technology
•
Science beyond “Moore’s Law”
•
ACI Fellows Program
•
Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation
Cyber-enabled Discovery and
Innovation (CDI)
• FY 2008 NSF-wide investment ($52M)
• MPS investment ($10M)
 “Broaden the Nation’s capability for innovation by developing a new
generation of computationally based discovery concepts and tools to deal
with complex, data-rich, and interacting systems”
Focus areas:
• From Data to Knowledge
• Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built and Social Systems
• Building Virtual organizations
•
Solicitation went public in Sept 2007.
•
Expected to increase by $50M per year for 5 yrs
Reasons for Funding a
Competitive Proposal:
Likely high impact
PI Career Point
(tenured?/“established”/
“young”)
Balance in Program
Portfolio
Other Support for PI
Impact on
Institution/State
Special Programmatic
Considerations
(CAREER/RUI/EPSCoR)
Diversity Issues
Educational Impact
“Launching” versus
“Maintaining”
Single PI and Group Awards
Division
Budget
($ million)
Facilities**
(%)
Centers/Inst(
(%)
PIs/Groups
(%)
AST
217.9
55.8
1.5
42.6
CHE
194.2
7.8
6.9
85.3
DMR
260.2
15.4
27.2
57.4
DMS
211.8
-
9.4
90.6
PHY
250.5
32.4
2.6*
(17.6)
65.1
(50)
* Excludes PFCs (includes PFCs)
** Includes Instrumentation Prog. for CHE
Centers and Institutes
Materials Research Sci & Eng Centers
Science & Tech Centers
Math Institutes (MSRI, IMA, IPAM,
SAMSI, MBI, AIM, IAS)
Physics Frontiers Centers (Kavli Inst. for
Theoretical Physics, JILA, …)
Chemical Bonding Centers/Centers for
Chemical Innovation
ICECUBE
ALMA
IceCube
MPS Facilities
FY 2007
Actual
Facilities
Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR)
FY 2008
Est.
FY 2009
Req.
Change over
FY2008 Est.
Amnt.
%
$14.71
$13.71
$ 8.50
-$5.21
-38.0%
20.00
20.00
22.00
2.00
10.0%
0.25
1.50
2.15
0.65
43.3%
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)
18.00
18.00
18.00
-
-
Laser Interferometer Gravit. Wave Obs. (LIGO)
33.00
29.50
28.50
-1.00
-3.4%
NSCL (MSU Cyclotron)
18.50
18.50
20.50
2.00
10.8%
2.86
2.80
2.80
-
-
Nat'l High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL)
26.55
26.50
31.50
5.00
18.9%
Nat'l Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC)
10.46
10.45
9.60
-0.85
-8.1%
1.12
0.45
-0.67
-59.8%
39.28
38.55
41.83
3.28
8.5%
47.04
44.52
49.79
5.27
11.8%
3.70
8.22
11.77
3.55
43.2%
Other MPS Facilities
12.57
12.47
19.47
7.00
56.1%
Total, MPS
$246.92
$245.84
$266.86
$21.02
8.6%
GEMINI Observatory
IceCube
Nanofabrication (NNUN/NNIN)
Nat'l Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Nat'l Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO)
Nat'l Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)
1The
1
NOAO total for FY 2009 includes funding for the Telescope System Instrumentation Program at $5.0 million, level with the FY 2008 Request.
21% of total MPS budget
Preparing Workforce of 21st Century
Workforce and Learning:
Alignment of ACI with NSF Strategic Goals
MPS investments in Foundation, Directorate, and
Division activities support workforce development
throughout the educational continuum,
Support for young investigators (e.g., CAREER),
Enhancing educational and career opportunities for
undergraduate students (e.g., REU),
Enhancing professional development of K-12 science
educators through research experiences (e.g., RET),
Broadening Participation (e.g., Research Partnerships
for Diversity: PREM, PAARE).
NSF-Wide
Workforce Development Programs
Faculty Early Career Development Program
(CAREER)

A prestigious award that supports the early careerdevelopment activities of promising future leaders
among teacher-scholars at institutions of higher
learning or research

Total awards in NSF ~400/year; 115 in MPS in FY 08
ADVANCE

A program with different options for increasing the
participation of women in the scientific and engineering
workforce

Total active awards in FY 2008: 18 Inst’l, 19 Dept’l for
a total of $19M; MPS ~$4-5M
Professor Fredrick A. Jenet (UTB),
developed a program to involve
students in astronomical research
early in their careers as part of his
NSF CAREER award. Here, high
school researchers Samuel
Rodarte, Jr. and Jessica Gutierrez
present a poster paper at the
January 2008 American
Astronomical Society meeting.
NSF-Wide
Workforce Development Programs
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(REU)


A program that supports undergraduate students to do
scientific research
Both Sites awards and individual supplements to
existing NSF awards
Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)

A supplement available to REU Sites and existing
NSF research awards that supports primarily K-12
teachers to do scientific research and to take that
experience back into their classrooms to educate and
inspire young students
REU Sites:
CERN (other int’l),
LIGO,
small labs,
astronomical
observatories,
centers.institutes
… (hundreds)
NSF-Wide
Workforce Development Programs
Research in Undergraduate
Institutions (RUI)
 A program, similar to the regular
research grants, but supports faculty
members at predominantly
undergraduate institutions to undertake
research projects
Research Opportunity Awards
(ROA)
 A supplement available for active NSF
research awards to involve faculty from
non-research institutions in scientific
research
Dr. Frank Winkler (Middlebury College)
and collaborators used more than 500
individual images from the Magellanic
Clouds Emission Line Survey project to
assembled this mosaic of the Small
Magellanic Cloud, a nearby satellite
galaxy to our own Galaxy
The Greatest Threat to Science
The Face of American Science
Is Not the Face of America
Milestones in Higher Education
4%
10%
First Time Freshman Interested
in Science and Engineering
Total: 726,000
First Time Freshman
Total: 2,506,000
9%
10%
13%
53%
NSF SRS 20012004 Data:
Better now, but
not significantly
7%
Bachelor Degrees
in Science and Engineering
Total: 452,000
High School
Graduates
Total: 2,599,000
37%
6%
Advanced Degrees in
Science and Engineering
Total: 145,000
15%
Minority Men
11%
15%
43%
46%
35%
36%
Minority Women
40%
34%
40%
36%
Non-Minority
Men
Non-Minority
Women
NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences
Workforce Development Programs
Partnerships in Astronomy and Astrophysics Research and
Education (PAARE)
 Enhance diversity in astronomy and astrophysics research and
education by stimulating the development long-term, collaborative
research and education partnerships between minority serving
institutions and AST-supported facilities, projects, or faculty
members at research institutions, including private observatories
 New program in AST for FY2008
 Total awards made in AST in FY 2008: 4
Partnerships for Research
and Education in Materials
….broaden participation in materials research and
education by stimulating the development of long-term,
collaborative partnerships between minority serving
institutions and DMR-supported groups, centers and
facilities
Competitive awards to minority
serving institutions
 Partnership based on intellectual
connections
Competitions in 2004 and 2006
10 Awards of ~ 500k/year for 5
years
Next competition planned for FY
2009
MPS Recent Trends:FY 2003 - 2008
FY
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
# competitive
proposals
6694
7181
7082
7471
7316
(5247)
# competitive
awards
2268
2175
2071
2227
2361
(957)
funding rate
34%
30%
29%
30%
32%
(18%)
mean award
($ thousand)
120.3
121.3
132.0
117.2
129.6
143.6
NSF Support as a Percentage
of Total Federal Support of
Academic Basic Research
Computer Science
86
Mathematics
77
Biology
63
(excluding NIH)
Environmental sciences
50
Social Sciences
49
Engineering
45
Physical sciences
39
0
20
40
60
Percentage
80
100
OLPA-29
NSF’s Role in . . .
Federal Basic
Research
Total Federal
R&D
$26.9 Billion
NSF
$3.5 Billion
$132.2 Billion
13%
NSF
$4.1 Billion
13%
3%
Total U.S. R&D
~$300 Billion
NSF
$4.1 Billion
NSF 1.4%
OLPA-20
Trends in Basic Research by Agency
billions of constant FY 2006 dollars
FY 1975-2007
Source: AAAS analyses of R&D in AAAS Reports I-XXXI. FY 2007 figures are President’s request. Basic
research only. March ’06 © 2006 AAAS.
OLPA-26