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People"A diverse, internationally competitive and globally-engaged workforce of scientists, engineers and well-prepared citizens"The linkage of research and learning is a defining characteristic of all NSF investments. Across the Foundation's programs, NSF activities involve over 200,000 people. This includes researchers, graduate students and post-doctorates engaged in cutting edge research, as well as teachers and students at all grade levels who benefit from NSF-supported projects aimed at developing and implementing high quality math and science education. Support for programs specifically addressing NSF's Strategic Goal of People totals $1.09 billion in FY 2003, an increase of 9.4 percent over FY 2002. (H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Receipts will increase total support to $1.18 billion.)
Support by Level of Education
Totals may not add due to
rounding. The funds associated with the Foundation's People goal primarily address education and training opportunities for the nation's current and future scientists and engineers and the instructional workforce that influences the science and math capabilities of the citizenry. Funds associated with NSF's other strategic goals, Ideas and Tools, also advance the People goal. Education is an integral component of all research projects as the skills and training needed for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists are provided within the context of the research experience and the state-of-the-art tools used in these efforts. The Foundation places a high priority on formal and informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels -- preK-12, undergraduate, graduate, professional, and public science literacy that engages people of all ages in lifelong learning. NSF programs are intended to increase opportunities for all students to learn mathematics and science, prepare for and complete higher education, join the workforce as competent and contributing members, and become well-informed, science-literate citizens. PreK-12 Education The FY 2003 NSF Request for preK-12 programs is $374.26 million, an increase of $47.52 million or 14.5 percent over FY 2002.
Undergraduate Education The FY 2003 Request for programs to improve undergraduate education is $242.21 million, $2.86 million less than the FY 2002 Request. Highlights in FY 2003 include:
Graduate & Professional Education The FY 2003 Request for graduate and professional programs totals $376.40 million, an increase of $51.69 million over FY 2002.
Other Support The FY 2003 Budget Request for the activities below is $93.83 million, a decrease of $3.16 million.
FY 2003 Performance Goal for People The following table summarizes NSF's FY 2003 Performance Goal for People. For additional information, see the FY 2003 Performance Plan.
1 These performance goals
are stated in the alternate form provided for in GPRA legislation. Highlights of Recent Accomplishments (People)Examples of accomplishments of NSF-supported education and training programs are described below. For students who might not otherwise consider a career in science or engineering, the chance to work in a active research laboratory can make a difference. At Fort Valley State University in Georgia, a group of ten women and/or minority undergraduates worked last summer with research scientists through NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in biology. The students, who were selected competitively from small schools in the Southeast, are getting ten weeks of hands-on lab experience in fields such as cell biology, genetic engineering, tissue culture, molecular genetics, environmental sciences, entomology and biochemistry. Each student is conducting a research project and preparing a scientific presentation. NSF Scholarship for Service Awards were presented to six universities as part of an interagency, public/private effort to meet the nationwide needs for computer security and information assurance professionals. Under the scholarship program, students selected by universities will be prepared to receive bachelors' degrees in information assurance and computer security. The students will have internship opportunities with federal agencies, and then upon graduation, work for the federal government on the basis of one year of service for each year of scholarship education received. The demand for information security professionals is high, and many graduates are expected to stay with the government, providing a cadre of young professionals to make a significant contribution to federal security programs over the long term. The federal Office of Personnel Management will manage the placement of interns and graduates from the scholarship program. The universities selected to receive the NSF scholarship monies have been named Centers for Excellence by the National Security Agency, as established by Presidential directive. U. S. preeminence in today's world demands the kind of graduate education in science and engineering that is exemplified in Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeships (IGERT) projects. For example, ongoing IGERT projects have focus areas that are proving critical to national security areas such as smart sensors, wireless networking, and computational analysis of social and organizational systems. The work in this last area was conducted by an IGERT project at Carnegie-Mellon University, and was cited in national news reports for its contribution in the nation's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The work involves developing software to analyze how organizations interact and to identify key links in an organization. It is being applied to analysis of terrorist organizational networks. Texas A&M University's Information Technology in Science Center for Learning and Teaching is becoming a model of cross-campus collaboration on key educational research projects. In its first year, the Center has developed its first cohort of science education specialists and created five teams that involve 17 faculty members and their graduate students in biology, chemistry, geoscience, and physics. Each project is developing a specific technology that will be introduced in secondary classrooms, addressing science topics in areas where students have difficulties mastering key concepts as identified by statewide assessments. Examples of the project teams include the Environmental Science team, which applies information technology to the fundamental concepts of the risk assessment process to evaluate best practices for minimizing human and ecological risk. City students make gains in math and science, according to a summary report on urban programs making up NSF's Urban Systemic Initiatives (USI). Eight years ago, NSF undertook the USI program, a bold initiative to encourage and invest in system-wide reform of K-12 mathematics and science education in some of the most disadvantaged urban school systems. Students in these systems were performing poorly in mathematics and science, with wide gaps evident between minority and majority students. USI was designed to enable cities to implement wide-ranging reforms through standards-based curricula, professional development for teachers, and accountability for achievement through data collection and assessment. Now, an external evaluation team reports some dramatic payoffs from these investments. The external evaluation, Academic Excellence for All Urban Students, found that in most of the 22 USI cities, students are taking more math and science courses and increasing achievement levels, as demonstrated through various assessment tools. Minority students, meanwhile, are making even greater gains in enrollments and performance, reducing the "achievement gap" between themselves and majority students. An Advanced Technological Education (ATE) project led by Texas' College of the Mainland, in collaboration with the Gulf Coast Process Technology Alliance, is leading the development of a competency-based curriculum driven by industrial needs that provides a portable national credential for process technicians - in particular, those in the petrochemical and refining industries. Process technology programs also serve other chemical industries as well as pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and power generation. In this effort, 29 community colleges and universities in 13 states are collaborating with 22 industrial partners such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Dupont, Dow Chemical, and Shell Chemical. More than 150 process technicians, supervisors, and trainers are involved in developing the process technology curriculum. Over 10,000 high school students will be involved in outreach activities. Pathways are being developed to four-year programs for process technicians. During the first three years of Center operations, it plans to involve more than 5,000 students in associate degree programs in process technology. Activities include curriculum development, professional development, capacity building, dissemination, and evaluation. The industry partners show that hiring an associate degree graduate from these programs results in a 65 percent reduction in basic training time (about $3,400 per hire), a 40 percent reduction in qualification time, and a 37 percent improvement in safety performance. The second wave of graduate students is now enriching K-12 classrooms through NSF's Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education (GK-12) program, an innovative educational program enabling talented graduate and advanced undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to teach their younger peers in K-12 schools. Planned as a pilot effort in 1999, the GK-12 program received positive responses from colleges and universities, as well as from elementary and secondary schools. The 25 new awards will significantly expand the program nationwide. Under GK-12, institutions are responsible for recruiting the teaching fellows from their campus science, mathematics and engineering departments. Graduate students in the program receive annual stipends plus a cost-of-education allowance. Undergraduate students will receive as much as $5,000 per academic year, plus up to an additional $5,000 for service during the summer. Web Site Links Classrooms and Scientists During Major Expedition: In the spring of 2001, NSF funded an interdisciplinary team of 34 scientists, technicians, and engineers to explore a newly discovered vent field in the Indian Ocean. The team mapped the area and collected biological samples, samples of vent and smoker fluid and plumes, and rocks and sediment samples from the seafloor. Findings of new hydrothermal vent animals and ancient bacteria may help scientists better explain how and whether the fauna living at hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are genetically related. The research expedition was fully integrated with an educational component called "Dive and Discover," co-funded with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Ohio's Center of Science and Industry. "Dive and Discover" involved live web casts, interactive links between students and scientists, and companion materials that assisted teachers in explaining the science and technology behind the cruise. The Indian Ocean expedition was one of a series of field expeditions in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. An educational materials development project based at Hampshire College and sponsored by the Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program is bringing together the educational community, a leading scientific organization and the National STEM Education Digital Library. It builds upon the expertise of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) to create a peer-reviewed, Digital Library-based resource to help faculty become more innovative teachers and students become active participants in learning ecology. The project establishes a process for creating an evolving collection of contemporary issues, experiments and resources in ecology and making it widely available electronically through ESA. The project should serve as a catalyst in enhancing scholarship in science teaching. For one group of high school teachers, the summer curriculum includes experiments with such high-tech wonders as space rockets, surgical robots and water quality monitoring instruments. A group of 25 teachers gathered last summer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland for an introduction to engineering, offered through NSF's Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in engineering. The program encourages professional development by involving the teachers in NSF projects and promoting relationships between local school districts and the engineering research community. In addition to tutorials on engineering design, manufacturing techniques and lab safety, the teachers conduct hands-on research alongside professional engineers in projects encompassing physics, genetics, robotics, biology and environmental quality.
The first "Director's Awards for Distinguished Teaching Scholars" were presented to seven scientists and engineers who have excelled in their research and have communicated the results to their students and the general public. Each recipient shares NSF's "highest honor for excellence in both teaching and research" and receives $300,000 over four years to continue and expand their work beyond their institutions. The awards recognize and encourage scientists and engineers to be more involved in education, both in the classroom on subjects in which they are already well-versed, or by engaging students and citizens in public forums on contemporary issues. Numbers of People Involved in NSF ActivitiesOver 200,000 people are directly involved in NSF programs and activities, receiving salaries, stipends, or participant support. In addition, NSF programs indirectly impact many millions of people. These programs reach preK-12 students, preK-12 teachers, the general public and researchers through activities including workshops; informal science activities such as museums, television, videos, and journals; outreach efforts; and dissemination of improved curriculum and teaching methods..
1 Does not include individuals to be funded through H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Receipts. Senior Researchers include scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and educators receiving funding through NSF awards. These include both researchers who are principal or co-principal investigators on research and education projects, and researchers working at NSF-supported centers and facilities. Other Professionals are individuals who may or may not hold doctoral degrees or its equivalent, who are considered professionals, but are not reported as senior researchers, postdoctoral associates, or students. Examples are technicians, systems experts, etc. Postdoctoral Associates are individuals who have received Ph.D., M.D., D.Sc., or equivalent degrees less than five years ago, and who are not members of the faculty of the performing institution. Most of these postdoctoral associates are supported through funds included in research projects, centers or facilities awards. The balance are recipients of postdoctoral fellowships. Graduate Students include students compensated from NSF grant funds. Some of these students receive support through programs such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT), and NSF Graduate Teaching Fellowships in K-12 Education. The balance assists senior researchers or postdoctoral associates in performing research, and are supported through funds included in research projects, centers, or facilities awards. NSF provides support for approximately five percent of the science and engineering graduate students in the U.S. Undergraduate Students include students enrolled in technical colleges or baccalaureate programs compensated from NSF grant funds. They may either be assisting senior researchers or postdoctoral associates in performing research, or participating in NSF programs specifically aimed at undergraduate students, such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation. K-12 Students are those attending elementary, middle, and secondary schools. They are supported through program components that directly engage students in science and mathematics experiences such as teacher and student development projects. K-12 Teachers include teachers at elementary, middle, and secondary schools. These individuals actively participate in intensive professional development experiences in sciences and mathematics. |
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