BIOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE $72,320,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Biological Infrastructure (DBI) Subactivity is $72.32 million, an increase of $3.8 million, or 5.5 percent, from the FY 2002 Current Plan of $68.52 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

Totals may not add due to rounding.

The goal of the Biological Infrastructure Subactivity is to ensure that essential infrastructure for contemporary research is available to scientists in all areas of biological science, from the molecular to the ecosystem level, for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary efforts. Resources supported range from physical infrastructure, such as multi-user instrumentation, to training in biological research for students at undergraduate and postdoctoral levels. In addition, teams of biologists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, computer scientists, and engineers are supported to develop new research tools such as databases, informatics, and new instrumentation for the biological sciences. Also included in DBI's responsibilities is development of research resources, such as genome sequence databases and improvement of natural history collections and biological field stations.

The Research Resources program supports a range of activities including multi-user instrumentation; the development of instruments with new capabilities, improved resolution or sensitivity; upgrades to biological field stations and marine laboratories; support of living stock collections ranging from microbes to plants and animals; development of biological databases and informatics tools; and research collections in biological sciences. These various research resources provide the essential platforms and tools for effective research in modern biology.

The Research Resources program will provide infrastructure support of $47.94 million that includes enhanced support for:

• "2010 Project": DBI's role in support of the "2010 Project" will focus on development of informatics tools and on building research resources to enable a broad community of scientists to determine the function of 25,000 Arabidopsis genes by 2010.
  
  
• NEON: $3.0 million will be used to initiate operational support for two prototype National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites. Instrumentation and construction costs for NEON are discussed in the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction section.

The Human Resources program supports a range of activities centered on ensuring adequately and appropriately trained scientists for the future, broadening participation, and fostering the integration of research and education. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on training a new generation of scientists who are well equipped to advance biology of the 21^st Century. These activities include postdoctoral research fellowships, sites for biological research experiences for undergraduates, collaborative research at undergraduate institutions, and NSF-wide programs such as Integrative Graduate Education and

Research Traineeship program (IGERT), Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12), and ADVANCE.

The Human Resources program will provide support of $24.38 million for programs that broaden participation while fostering the integration of research and education, including:

• Innovative Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites projects and the Undergraduate Mentorship in Environmental Biology (UMEB).

A specific example of the impact of the DBI investment in human resources program is the BIO Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. Since 1990, BIO has invested in this program with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in faculty positions at colleges and universities, from which they can apply for NSF research grants and serve as mentors to an increasingly diverse student body; and in positions of leadership in industry and the public sector. Since the program's inception, 128 minority fellows have been supported within the biological sciences. The BIO Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program has an evaluation scheduled in FY 2002 to ensure goals are being met.