National Science Board
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| National Science Board, NSF | |
 Motto: Supporting Education and Research across all fields of Science and Technology America's Investment in the Future |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 10 May 1950 |
| Headquarters | Arlington, VA |
| Agency executives | Steven C. Beering, Chairman Patricia D. Galloway, Vice-Chairman Craig R. Robinson, Executive Officer (acting) |
| Website | |
| www.nsf.gov/nsb | |
The National Science Board (Board) is composed of 25 Presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Members, including the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), representing the broad U.S. science and engineering community. The Board establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The Board also serves as an independent policy advisory body to the President and Congress on science and engineering research and education issues and has a statutory obligation to "...render to the President and to the Congress reports on specific, individual policy matters related to science and engineering and education in science engineering, as the Board, the President, or the Congress determines the need for such reports,"[1] and to "...render to the President and the Congress no later than January 15 of each even numbered year, a report on indicators of the state of science and engineering in the United States."[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
The National Science Board was created through the National Science Foundation Act of 1950: "There is established in the executive branch of the Government an independent agency to be known as the National Science Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the “Foundation”). The Foundation shall consist of a National Science Board (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) and a Director."[3]
As an independent Federal agency, NSF does not fall within a cabinet department; rather NSF's activities are guided by the National Science Board (NSB or Board). The Board was established by the Congress to serve as a national science policy body, and to oversee and guide the activities of NSF. It has dual responsibilities to: a) provide independent national science policy advice to the President and the Congress; and b) establish policies for NSF.
The Board meets five times per year to review and approve major NSF awards and new programs, provide policy direction to NSF, and address significant science and engineering related national policy issues. It initiates and conducts studies and reports on a broad range of policy topics, and publishes policy papers or statements on issues of importance to U.S. science and engineering research and education enterprises. The Board identifies issues that are critical to NSF's future, and approves NSF's strategic plan and the annual budget submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Specifically, the Board analyzes NSF's budget to ensure progress and consistency in keeping with the strategic direction set for NSF and to ensure balance between new investments and core programs.
[edit] Composition
The Board has 24 Members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, plus the NSF Director who serves as an ex officio member (for a total of 25 Members). Every 2 years, one-third (8) of the Members rotate off of the Board and eight new Members are appointed (or occasionally re-appointed) to serve for six-year terms. Board Member nominations are based on distinguished service and eminence in research, education and/or public service. Members are drawn from academia and industry, and represent a diverse range of science, technology, engineering, and education disciplines and geographic areas.
[edit] Members of the National Science Board[4]
Terms expire May 10, 2010
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- Dan E. Arvizu - Director and Chief Executive, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado
- Steven C. Beering - Chairman, National Science Board and President Emeritus, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- G. Wayne Clough - Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
- Kelvin K. Droegemeier – Associate Vice President for Research, Regents' Professor of Meteorology and Weathernews Chair University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
- Louis J. Lanzerotti - Distinguished Research Professor of Physics, Center for Solar Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey
- Alan I. Leshner - Chief Executive Officer, Executive Publisher, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC
- Jon C. Strauss – Interim Dean, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas Effective June 15, 2009
- Kathryn D. Sullivan – Director, Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy, John Glenn School of Public Affairs, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Terms expire May 10, 2012
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- Mark R. Abbott - Dean and Professor, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University
- Camilla P. Benbow – Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
- John T. Bruer - President, The James S. McDonnell Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri
- Patricia D. Galloway - Vice Chairman, National Science Board and Chief Executive Officer, Pegasus Global Holdings, Inc., Cle Elum, Washington
- José-Marie Griffiths - Dean and Professor, School of Information and Library Science, Director of Biomedical Informatics, TraCS Institute, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Arthur K. Reilly - Senior Director, Strategic Technology Policy, Cisco Systems, Inc., Ocean, New Jersey
- Thomas N. Taylor – Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Curator of Paleobotany, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
- Richard F. Thompson - Keck Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Terms expire May 10, 2014
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- Ray M. Bowen - President Emeritus, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
- France A. Córdova – President, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Esin Gulari – Dean of Engineering and Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
- G.P. "Bud" Peterson – President, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Douglas D. Randall - Professor and Thomas Jefferson Fellow, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
- Diane L. Souvaine - Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
- Two available seats
Ex-Officio Member: Arden L. Bement Jr. - Director, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
Board Consultants
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- Barry C. Barish - Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of Physics Emeritus, Director, Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, (LIGO), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
- Elizabeth Hoffman - Executive Vice President and Provost, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Executive Officer and NSB Office Director (Acting): Craig R. Robinson, National Science Board Office, Arlington, Virginia
[edit] Committees
Much of the background work of the National Science Board is done through its committees. By statute, the Board has an Executive Committee (EC) [5], which exercises such functions as are delegated to it by the Board, and such other committees as the Board deems necessary. As of January 2009, the Board has five other standing committees [6].
Statutory Committees
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- Executive Committee
Standing Committees
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- Audit and Oversight (A&O)
- Education and Human Resources (CEH)
- Programs and Plans (CPP)
- Science and Engineering Indicators (SEI)
- Strategy and Budget (CSB)
Subcommittees, Task Forces and ad hoc Committees
[edit] National Science Board Activities
During 2008, the Board completed several items in terms of its mission to provide policy direction to the NSF, including: approved the NSF annual Merit Review Report and provided review and decisions on major awards or proposal funding requests. In addition, the Board’s report, Enhancing Support of Transformative Research at the National Science Foundation, provided guidance on the creation of a new NSF Transformative Research Initiative. In terms of advice to the President and the Congress, the Board approved, published, and distributed the report, HURRICANE WARNING: The Critical Need for a National Hurricane Research Initiative. This report provides broad recommendations regarding our Nation’s hurricane research enterprise, as well as specific guidance for the role that NSF should play in these efforts. The Board also received the report of its Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and developed a Board national action plan for addressing the critical STEM education needs of our Nation while providing specific guidance for the role of NSF in the national STEM education enterprise (STEM Action Plan). During FY 2008, the Subcommittee on Science and Engineering Indicators (now a full standing committee) prepared a policy statement Companion Piece to Science and Engineering Indicators 2008, and produced a pilot volume of a Science and Engineering Indicators Digest, which will highlight a small selection of core and topical S&T, and serve as a portal to the electronic version of Science and Engineering Indicators 2008.
[edit] STEM Education Recommendations
In January 2009, the NSB approved and transmitted a set of six recommendations to the Obama Administration. These recommendations outline a series of steps to improve STEM education and foster innovation to ensure both scientific literacy among the public and ensure global competitiveness in the 21st century.
From the STEM Education Recommendations:
- The National Science Board (Board) recommends a set of actions for the new Administration to implement starting in early 2009 to advance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education for all American students, to nurture innovation, and to ensure the long-term economic prosperity of the Nation. The urgency of this task is underscored by the need to ensure that the United States continues to excel in science and technology in the 21st century. It must develop the ideas that could transform and strengthen the economy, ensure a skilled workforce for American industry, and guarantee that all American students are provided the educational resources and tools needed to participate fully in the science and technology based economy of the 21st century. The solutions we offer here are derived from studies by the Board over the past decade and reflect our continued commitment to a high quality STEM education system for America.
[edit] Science & Engineering Indicators[7]
Science & Engineering Indicators (SEI) is prepared by the National Science Foundation's Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS) on behalf of the National Science Board as required by law [8]. It is subject to extensive review by outside experts, interested federal agencies, NSB members, and SRS internal reviewers for accuracy, coverage, and balance.
SEI comprise quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI does not offer policy options and it does not make policy recommendations. SEI employs a variety of presentational styles—tables, figures, narrative text, bulleted text, web-based links, highlights, introductions, conclusions, reference lists—to make the data accessible to readers with different information needs and different information processing preferences.
Recently Published Indicators
Chapters
SEI includes seven chapters that follow a generally consistent pattern; an eighth chapter, on state indicators, presented in a unique format; and an overview that precedes these eight chapters. The chapter titles are:
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- Elementary and Secondary Education
- Higher Education in Science and Engineering
- Science and Engineering Labor Force
- Research and Development: National Trends and International Linkages
- Academic Research and Development
- Industry, Technology, and the Global Marketplace
- Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding
- State Indicators
An appendix volume, available online at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/indicators/ contains detailed data tables keyed to each of the eight chapters listed.
Companion to SEI
A National Science Board policy statement "companion piece," authored by the Board, draws upon the data in SEI and offers recommendations on issues of concern for national science and engineering research or education policy, in keeping with the Board's statutory responsibility to bring attention to such issues. In 2006, the Board produced a pilot "digest" or condensed version of SEI comprising a small selection of important indicators. This Digest of Key Science and Engineering Indicators serves two purposes: (1) to draw attention to important trends and data points from across the chapters and volumes of SEI and (2) to introduce readers to the data resources available in the main volumes of SEI 2008 and associated products.
Recent SEI Companion Pieces:
[edit] Other Publications/Reports
- International Science and Engineering Partnerships: A Priority for U.S. Foreign Policy and Our Nation's Innovation Enterprise
- National Action Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education System
- Moving Forward to Improve Engineering Education
- The Science and Engineering Workforce: Realizing America's Potential
- International Science and Engineering Partnerships: A Priority of U.S. Foreign Policy and Our Nation's Innovation Enterprise
- Additional NSB Publications
[edit] National Science Board Approved NSF Projects
Depending on the size of the proposed award, the Board will review funding of major facilities and projects. The following is a non-comprehensive list of the types of large-scale projects the Board has reviewed and approved:
- TCS (Terascale Computing System) at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
- HIAPER (High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research)
- LHC (Large Hadron Collider)
- NEES (George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation)
- Polar Cap Observatory
[edit] Honors
The NSB sponsors national honorary awards:
Vannevar Bush Award - established by the board in 1980, awarded to senior scientists for public service in science and technology;
NSB Public Service Award - established by the board in 1996, presented to one or more individuals, or to a company, corporation or organization, in recognition of their contributions to increasing public understanding of science or engineering.
List of Public Service Awardees
[edit] See also
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Science and Technology Policy
[edit] References
- ^ (42 U.S.C. Section 1863) SEC. 4.(j)(2)
- ^ (42 U.S.C. Section 1863) SEC. 4.(j)(1)
- ^ http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/usc_sec_42_00001861----000-.html
- ^ http://nsf.gov/nsb/members/terms.jsp
- ^ http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode42/usc_sec_42_00001865----000-.html
- ^ http://nsf.gov/nsb/committees/index.jsp
- ^ http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/front/about.htm
- ^ http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sec_42_00001863----000-.html
