The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about US$6.87 billion (fiscal year 2010), the NSF funds approximately 20% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.
The NSF's director, deputy director, and the 24 members of the National Science Board (NSB) are appointed by the President of the United States, and confirmed by the United States Senate. The director and deputy director are responsible for administration, planning, budgeting and day-to-day operations of the foundation, while the NSB meets six times a year to establish its overall policies.
Read more about National Science Foundation: Grants and The Merit Review Process, Scope and Organization, History and Mission, Public Attitudes and Understanding
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“There is no national science just as there is no national multiplication table; anything that is national is not scientific.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“...I have wanted to believe people could make their dreams come true ... that problems could be solved. However, this is a national illness. As Americans, we believe all problems can be solved, that all questions have answers.”
—Kristin Hunter (b. 1931)
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—H.G. (Herbert George)
“Remember that whatever knowledge you do not solidly lay the foundation of before you are eighteen, you will never be master of while you breathe.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)