National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency of the U.S. government that supports basic research and education in a wide range of sciences and in mathematics and engineering. Inspired by advances in science and technology that occurred as a result of World War II, the NSF was established by the U.S. Congress in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. From a budget of approximately $8.5 billion in the early 2020s, it provided about 11,000 awards a year to scientists, students, and teachers. It provided about one-fifth of total federal support of basic scientific research at academic institutions, making it a major source for funding in basic research in the United States.

The NSF grants funding for research in biological sciences; geosciences; mathematics; physical sciences; Arctic and Antarctic research; social, behavioral, and economic sciences; computer and information sciences; and engineering. It also provides support for educational programs in mathematics and sciences at elementary school through university graduate levels.

While the NSF does not operate laboratories, it funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, established by the NSF in 1959, which conducts research in several sciences. The NSF is the executive agency for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., a consortium of more than 40 universities that conducts research in astronomy at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, and other observatories. In 1994, construction began on the Gemini Observatory—twin 8-metre (26-foot) telescopes for optimum viewing sites in Hawaii and Chile—for which the NSF provided the majority of the funding; the project was completed in 2000. Among other activities, the NSF cooperates in managing the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, and supports international cooperation among American and foreign researchers. Among the most notable results of NSF grants were the experimental computer networks that developed into the Internet.

The NSF is also responsible for administering the National Medal of Science, presented by the president of the United States. Winners of the medal are listed in the table.