Editing National Science Foundation (section)

===Timeline===

====Pre–World War II====
Although the federal government had established nearly 40 scientific organizations between 1910 and 1940, the US relied upon a primarily [[laissez-faire]] approach to scientific research and development. Academic research in science and engineering occasionally received federal funding. Within University laboratories, almost all support came from private contributions and charitable foundations. In industrial laboratories, the concentration of workers and funding (some through military and government programs as a result of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]]) would eventually raise concern during the wartime period. In particular, concerns were raised that industry laboratories were largely allowed full patent rights of technologies developed with federal funds. These concerns, in part, led to efforts like Senator [[Harley M. Kilgore]]'s "Science Mobilization Act".<ref name="j2">{{cite journal|last=Kevles|first=Daniel|year=1977|title=The National Science Foundation and the Debate over Postwar Research Policy, 1942–1945|journal=Isis|volume=68|issue=241|pages=4–26|doi=10.1086/351711|pmid=320157|s2cid=32956693}}</ref>

====1940–1949====
Amidst growing awareness that US military capability depended on strength in science and engineering, Congress considered several proposals to support research in these fields. Separately, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] sponsored creation of organizations to coordinate federal funding of science for war, including the [[National Defense Research Committee]] and the [[Office of Scientific Research and Development]] (OSRD) both from 1941 to 1947. Despite broad agreement over the principle of federal support for science, working out a consensus on how to organize and manage it required five years.<ref name="nsf3" /> The five-year political debate over the creation of a national scientific agency has been a topic for academic study, understood from a variety of perspectives.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Wang|first=Jessica|date=1995|title=Liberals, the Progressive Left, and the Political Economy of Postwar American Science: The National Science Foundation Debate Revisited.|journal=Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences|volume= 26| issue =  1|pages=139–166|doi=10.2307/27757758|jstor=27757758|pmid=11609016}}</ref> Themes include disagreements over administrative structure, patents and inclusion of social sciences,<ref name=":02"/> a [[Populism|populist]]-versus-scientist dispute,<ref name=":7">B.L.R. Smith 1990: 40, cited in Daniel Kleinman ''Politics on the Endless Frontier''</ref> as well as the roles of political parties, Congress, and [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]].<ref name=":02"/>

Commonly, this debate is characterized by the conflict between [[New Deal]] Senator [[Harley M. Kilgore]] and OSRD head [[Vannevar Bush]].<ref name="k3">{{cite book|title=Politics on the Endless Frontier|last=Kleinman|first=Daniel|publisher=Duke University Press|year=1995}}</ref>  Narratives about the National Science Foundation prior to the 1970s typically concentrated on Vannevar Bush and his 1945 publication Science—The Endless Frontier.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/vbush1945.htm|title=Science The Endless Frontier – A Report to the President by Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, July 1945|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=Jul 1945|website=nsf.gov|publisher=National Science Foundation}}</ref> In this report, Vannevar Bush, then head of the [[Office of Scientific Research and Development]] which began the [[Manhattan Project]], addressed plans for the postwar years to further foster government commitment to science and technology.<ref name=":1" /> Issued to President Harry S. Truman in July 1945, the report made a strong case for federally-funded scientific research, arguing that the nation would reap rich dividends in the form of better health care, a more vigorous economy, and a stronger national defense. It proposed creating a new federal agency, the National Research Foundation.<ref name=":1" />

The NSF first appeared as a comprehensive New Deal Policy proposed by Sen. Harley Kilgore of West Virginia.<ref name="j2"/> In 1942, Senator Kilgore introduced the "Science Mobilization Act" (S. 1297), which did not pass.<ref name="k3"/><ref name="j2"/> Perceiving organizational chaos, elitism, over-concentration of funds in elite universities, and lack of incentives for socially applicable research, Kilgore envisioned a comprehensive and centralized research body supporting [[Basic Science|basic]] and [[Applied Research|applied research]] which would be controlled by members of the public and civil servants rather than scientific experts.<ref name="k3"/> The public would own the rights to all patents funded by public monies and research monies would be equitably spread across universities. Kilgore's supporters included non-elite universities, small businesses, and the Budget Bureau.<ref name="k3"/> His proposals received mixed support.

Vannevar Bush opposed Kilgore, preferring science policy driven by experts and scientists rather than public and civil servants.<ref name="k3"/> Bush was concerned that public interests would politicize science, and believed that scientists would be the best judges of the direction and needs of their field. While Bush and Kilgore both agreed on the need for a national science policy,<ref name="k3"/> Bush maintained that scientists should continue to own the research results and [[patent]]s, wanted project selection limited to scientists, and focused support on basic research, not the social sciences, leaving the market to support applied projects.<ref name="k3"/>

Sociologist Daniel Kleinman divides the debate into three broad legislative attempts. The first attempt consisted of the 1945 Magnuson bill (S. 1285), the 1945 Science and Technology Mobilization Bill, a 1945 compromise bill (S. 1720), a 1946 compromise bill (S. 1850), and the Mills Bill (H.B. 6448). The Magnuson bill was sponsored by Senator [[Warren Magnuson]] and drafted by the OSRD, headed by Vannevar Bush. The Science and Technology Mobilization bill was promoted by Harley Kilgore. The bills called for the creation of a centralized science agency, but differed in governance and research supported.<ref name="k3"/><ref name=":02"/> The second attempt, in 1947, included Senator [[Howard Alexander Smith|H. Alexander Smith]]'s bill S. 526, and Senator [[Elbert D. Thomas|Elbert Thomas]]'s bill S. 525. The Smith bill reflected ideas of Vannevar Bush, while the Thomas bill was identical to the previous year's compromise bill (S. 1850).<ref name="k3"/>

After amendments, the Smith bill made it to President Truman's desk, but it was vetoed. Truman wrote that regrettably, the proposed agency would have been "divorced from control by the people to an extent that implies a distinct lack of faith in the democratic process".<ref name=":8">Truman, cited in Daniel Kleinman's ''Politics on the Endless Frontier''.</ref> The third attempt began with the introduction of S. 2385 in 1948. This was a compromise bill cosponsored by Smith and Kilgore, and Bush aide John Teeter had contributed in the drafting process. In 1949, S. 247 was introduced by the same group of senators behind S. 2385, marking the fourth and final effort to establish a national science agency. Essentially identical to S. 2385, S. 247 passed the Senate and the House with a few amendments.<ref name="k3"/> It was signed by President Truman on May 10, 1950.  Kleinman points out that the final NSF bill closely resembles Vannevar Bush's proposals.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Science Foundation. |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-president-upon-signing-bill-creating-the-national-science-foundation|access-date=2021-10-20|website=The American Presidency Project }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" href="ozone hole"
|+Kilgore and Bush Proposals differed on five issues which were central to the larger debate (Chart reproduced)<ref name="k3"/>
!
! Populist Proposal
(Harley Kilgore)
! Scientist/Business Proposal
(Vannevar Bush)
!National Science Foundation Act
1950
|-
|Coordination/Planning
|Strong Mandate
| Vague Mandate
| Vague Mandate
|-
|Control/Administration
| Non-scientist members of the public:
Business, labor, farmers, consumers
| Scientists and other experts
|Scientists and other experts
|-
|Research Supported
| Basic and applied
| Basic
| Basic
|-
|Patent Policy
| Nonexclusive licensing
| No nonexclusive licensing
|No nonexclusive licensing
|-
| Social Science Support
| Yes
| No
|No
|}

====1950–1959====
In 1950 [[Harry S. Truman]] signed Public Law 507, or 42 U.S.C. 16<ref>[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCODE-2010-title42/USCODE-2010-title42-chap16/content-detail.html 42 U.S.C. 16 – National Science Foundation]. Gpo.gov. Retrieved on February 21, 2014.</ref> creating the National Science Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=13480|title=Harry S. Truman: "Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Science Foundation.," May 10, 1950|author1=Peters, Gerhard|author2=Woolley, John T|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California |location= Santa Barbara|access-date=November 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{USStatute|81|507|64|149|1950|05|10}}</ref> which provided for a [[National Science Board]] of twenty-four part-time members. In 1951 Truman nominated [[Alan T. Waterman]], chief scientist at the [[Office of Naval Research]], to become the first Director.

With the Korean War underway, the agency's initial budget was just $151,000 for 9 months. After moving its administrative offices twice, NSF began its first full year of operations with an appropriation from Congress of $3.5&nbsp;million, far less the almost $33.5&nbsp;million requested with which 28 research grants were awarded.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

After the 1957 Soviet Union orbited [[Sputnik 1]], the first ever human-made satellite, national self-appraisal questioned American education, scientific, technical and industrial strength and Congress increased the NSF appropriation for 1958 to $40&nbsp;million.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 1958 the NSF selected [[Kitt Peak]], near [[Tucson, Arizona]], as the site of the first national observatory, that would give any astronomer unprecedented access to state-of-the-art telescopes; previously major research telescopes were privately funded, available only to astronomers who taught at the universities that ran them. The idea expanded to encompass the [[National Optical Astronomy Observatory]], the [[National Radio Astronomy Observatory]], the [[National Solar Observatory]], the [[Gemini Observatory]] and the [[Arecibo Observatory]], all of which are funded in whole or in part by NSF. The NSF's astronomy program forged a close working relationship with [[NASA]], also founded in 1958, in that the NSF provides virtually all the U.S. federal support for ground-based astronomy, while NASA's responsibility is the U.S. effort in space-based astronomy.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 1959 the U.S. and other nations concluded the [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]] reserving [[Antarctica]] for peaceful and scientific research, and a presidential directive gave the NSF responsibility for virtually all U.S. Antarctic operations and research in form of the [[United States Antarctic Program]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

====1960–1969====
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed [[Leland John Haworth]] as the second director of the NSF.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=A Brief History {{!}} NSF – National Science Foundation|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/nsf50/nsf8816.jsp#chapter3|access-date=2021-03-27|website=www.nsf.gov}}</ref> During the 1960s, the impact of the [[Sputnik crisis|Sputnik Crisis]] spurred international competition in science and technology and accelerated NSF growth.<ref name=":0" /> The NSF initiated a number of programs that support institution-wide research during this decade including the Graduate Science Facilities program (started in 1960), Institutional Grants for Science (started in 1961), and Science Development Grants, better known as Centers of Excellence program (started in 1964).<ref name=":0" /> Notable projects conducted during this decade include creation of the [[National Center for Atmospheric Research]] (1960), creation of the Division of Environmental Sciences (1965), deep sea exploration endeavors [[Project Mohole]] (1961) and the [[Deep Sea Drilling Project]] (1968–1983), the Ecosystems Analysis Program (1969), and ownership of the [[Arecibo Observatory]] (1969).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite web|title=A Timeline of NSF History – 1960s {{!}} NSF – National Science Foundation|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/timeline60s.jsp|access-date=2021-03-27|website=www.nsf.gov}}</ref> In 1969, Franklin Long was tentatively selected to take over directorship of the NSF.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" /> His nomination caused some controversy due to his opposition to the current administration's [[Anti-ballistic missile|antiballistic missile]] program and was ultimately rejected by President Richard Nixon.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" /> William D. McElroy instead took over as the third director of the NSF in 1969.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" /> By 1968, the NSF budget had reached nearly $500&nbsp;million.<ref name=":0" />

====1970–1979====
In 1972 the NSF took over management of twelve interdisciplinary materials research laboratories from the Defense Department's [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA). These university-based laboratories had taken a more integrated approach than did most academic departments at the time, encouraging physicists, chemists, engineers, and metallurgists to cross departmental boundaries and use systems approaches to attack complex problems of materials synthesis or processing. The NSF expanded these laboratories into a nationwide network of [[Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers]]. In 1972 the NSF launched the biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators" report<ref name="SEind">{{cite web|url=http://nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/chapter-7/c7h.htm|title=Chapter 7. Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding|year=2014|work=Science and Engineering Indicators|access-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref> to the US president and Congress, as required by the NSF Act of 1950. In 1977 the first interconnection of unrelated [[public data network]]s was developed, run by [[DARPA]].

====1980–1989====
During this decade, increasing NSF involvement lead to a three-tiered system of internetworks managed by a mix of universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. By the mid-1980s, primary financial support for the growing project was assumed by the NSF.<ref name="livinginternet" /> In 1983, NSF budget topped $1&nbsp;billion for the first time. Major increases in the nation's research budget were proposed as "the country recognizes the importance of research in science and technology, and education". The [[United States Antarctic Program|U.S. Antarctic Program]] was taken out of the NSF appropriation now requiring a separate appropriation. The NSF received more than 27,000 proposals and funded more than 12,000 of them in 1983. In 1985, the NSF delivered ozone sensors, along with balloons and helium, to researchers at the South Pole so they can measure stratospheric ozone loss. This was in response to findings earlier that year, indicating a steep drop in ozone over a period of several years. The Internet project continued, now known as [[NSFNET]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

====1990–1999====
In 1990 the NSF's appropriation passed $2&nbsp;billion for the first time. NSF funded the development of several curricula based on the [[NCTM standards]], devised by the [[National Council of Teachers of Mathematics]]. These standards were widely adopted by school districts during the subsequent decade. However, in what newspapers such as the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' called the "math wars", organizations such as [[Mathematically Correct]] complained that some elementary texts based on the standards, including [[Mathland]], had almost entirely abandoned any instruction of traditional arithmetic in favor of cutting, coloring, pasting, and writing. During that debate, NSF was both lauded and criticized for favoring the standards.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 1991 the NSFNET [[acceptable use policy]] was altered to allow commercial traffic. By 1995, with private, commercial market thriving, NSF decommissioned the NSFNET, allowing for public use of the Internet. In 1993 students and staff at the NSF-supported [[National Center for Supercomputing Applications]] (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, developed [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]], the first freely available browser to allow [[World Wide Web]] pages that include both graphics and text. Within 18 months, NCSA Mosaic becomes the Web browser of choice for more than a million users, and sets off an exponential growth in the number of Web users. In 1994 NSF, together with [[DARPA]] and [[NASA]], launched the Digital Library Initiative.<ref>[https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/cyber/digitallibraries.jsp Digital Libraries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207233414/https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/cyber/digitallibraries.jsp |date=February 7, 2019 }} at nsf.gov</ref> One of the first six grants went to [[Stanford University]], where two graduate students, [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]], began to develop a search engine that used the links between Web pages as a ranking method, which they later commercialized under the name [[Google]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 1996 NSF-funded research established beyond doubt that the chemistry of the atmosphere above Antarctica was grossly abnormal and that levels of key chlorine compounds are greatly elevated. During two months of intense work, NSF researchers learned most of what is known about the [[ozone hole]].{{cn|date=March 2025}}

In 1998 two independent teams of NSF-supported astronomers discovered that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up, as if some previously unknown force, now known as [[dark energy]], is driving the galaxies apart at an ever-increasing rate.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Since passage of the Small Business Technology Transfer Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–564, Title II), NSF has been required to reserve 0.3% of its extramural research budget for Small Business Technology Transfer awards, and 2.8% of its R&D budget for small business innovation research.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

====2000–2009====
NSF joined with other federal agencies in the [[National Nanotechnology Initiative]], dedicated to the understanding and control of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. NSF's roughly $300&nbsp;million annual investment in nanotechnology research was still one of the largest in the 23-agency initiative. In 2001, NSF's appropriation passed $4&nbsp;billion. The NSF's "Survey of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology" revealed that the public had a positive attitude toward science, but a poor understanding of it.<ref name="nsf4" /> During 2004–5 NSF sent "rapid response" research teams to investigate the aftermath of the [[Indian Ocean tsunami disaster]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/tsunami/index.jsp|title=After the Tsunami – Special Report – Archived – NSF – National Science Foundation|website=www.nsf.gov|date=March 14, 2025 }}</ref> and [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104474|title=NSF's Response to the Hurricanes – NSF – National Science Foundation|website=www.nsf.gov}}</ref> An NSF-funded engineering team helped uncover why the levees failed in [[New Orleans]]. In 2005, NSF's budget stood at $5.6&nbsp;billion, in 2006 it stood at $5.91&nbsp;billion for the 2007 fiscal year (October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007), and in 2007 NSF requested $6.43&nbsp;billion for FY 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/|title=Budget Requests and Approriations List Page – NSF – National Science Foundation|website=www.nsf.gov}}</ref>

====2010–2019====
President Obama requested $7.373&nbsp;billion for fiscal year 2013.<ref>NSF, [https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=123111 "National Science Foundation Budget Positions U.S. to Maintain Competitive Edge" Feb. 13, 2012]</ref> Due to the [[United States federal government shutdown of 2013|October 1, 2013 shutdown]] of the Federal Government, and NSF's lapse in funding, their website was down "until further notice", but was brought back online after the US government passed their budget. In 2014, NSF awarded rapid response grants to study a chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water of about 300,000 West Virginia residents.<ref>[https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=130304&org=NSF&from=news National Science Foundation (NSF) News – NSF awards rapid response grants to study West Virginia chemical spill – US National Science Foundation (NSF)]. nsf.gov. Retrieved on February 21, 2014.</ref> In early 2018, it was announced that Trump would cut NSF Research Funding by 30% but quickly rescinded this due to backlash.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/updated-us-spending-deal-contains-largest-research-spending-increase-decade|title=Trump, Congress approve largest U.S. research spending increase in a decade|date=March 23, 2018|website=Science AAAS|access-date=March 24, 2018}}</ref> As of May 2018, Heather Wilson, the secretary of the Air Force, signed that letter of intent with the director of NSF initiating partnership for the research related to space operations and [[Geosciences]], advanced [[Materials science|material sciences]], information and [[data science]]s, and workforce and processes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1516265/air-force-and-nsf-announce-partnership-in-science-and-engineering-research/|title=Air Force and NSF announce partnership in science and engineering rese|work=U.S. Air Force|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en-US}}</ref>