Abstract
The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created the by National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Its aim is to promote and advance scientific progress in the United States. The idea of such a foundation was an outgrowth of the important contributions made by science and technology during World War II. From those first days, NSF has had a unique place in the federal government: It is responsible for the overall health of science across all disciplines. In contrast, other agencies support research focused on specific missions.NSF funds research in all fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants and contracts to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, and other research institutions in all parts of the United States. The Foundation accounts for about 28 percent of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.NSF receives more than 27,000 proposals each year for research and graduate fellowships and makes more than 12,000 awards. These go to universities, colleges, academic consortia, nonprofit institutions, and small businesses. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, certain oceanographic vessels, and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also aids cooperative research between universities and industry and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.NSF is structured much like a university, with grant-making divisions for the various disciplines and fields of science and engineering. The Foundation's staff is helped by advisors, primarily from the scientific community, who serve on formal committees or as ad hoc reviewers of research proposals. This advisory system, which focusses on both program direction and specific proposals, involves more than 50,000 scientists and engineers a year, NSF staff members who are experts in a certain field or area make final award decisions; applicants get verbatim unsigned copies of peer reviews and can appeal those decisions.The Knowledge and Database Systems Program of the NSF consists of the following five subject areas: 1. Knowledge Engineering; 2. Formal Models; 3. Compiled Knowledge Systems; 4. Natural Language Systems; 5. Cognitive Systems. For each of these areas a listing of concise project descriptions is given for Fiscal Year 1986.
Published Version
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