About 25 percent of the funds for basic research project support are used for the employment of graduate research assistants. The students work with the principal investigators on the projects and at the same time receive valuable training and the opportunity to pursue thesis research.

General purpose grants in the institutional base grants and science development programs contribute to the support of both basic research and science education. The instructional equipment for undergraduate education program benefits primarily science education although some instruments and equipment are useful for research. About 80 percent of the projects supported under the graduate science facilities program are for construction or renovation of research laboratories and facilities. About 20 percent of the funds proposed for this program in fiscal year 1965 will be used for facilities which will benefit both the research and educational efforts of the institutions in science and engineering.

Specialized research facilities, national research centers, and national research programs primarily support basic research although some graduate students receive research and educational training through activities in these programs, particularly the specialized research facilities program.

Grants made in the science information services program improve the dissemination of scientific and technical information and the benefits are about equally divided between research and education.

Science education programs contribute primarily to improvement of science education at all educational levels. About 75 percent of funds in the fellowships and traineeships program are primarily for graduate education. However, the terminal year graduate students in the fellowships and traineeships program, as well as the science faculty, and postdoctoral programs contribute to both research and education.

Approximately $16 million of the $487,700,000 proposed for fiscal year 1965 is for programs which are administrative in nature and contribute indirectly to both science education and research.

More than 700 institutions of higher learning submit one or more proposals for grants under the various programs of the Foundation. These proposals are evaluated by panels of scientists and teachers and awards are made on the basis of the relative merit of the proposals. While the projects are sponsored by academic institutions they are, of course, conceived and managed by individuals at those institutions.

The programs proposed in the budget estimate will assist more than 92,000 individuals to enlarge their contribution to science as research scientists, teachers, and students. For the research scientists these programs provide laboratories, scientific equipment, major instrumentation, and facilities such as telescopes, nuclear particle accelerators, and oceanographic vessels and salaries for the research and technical staffs.

Teachers of science and mathematics are provided opportunities to participate in institutes to improve their subject competence and in many instances to earn an advanced degree. Teachers, in cooperation with research scientists, also participate in the development and improvement of science curriculums for all educational levels.

Advanced students and science faculty members are granted fellowships for graduate or postgraduate study in scientific fields of their choice. Undergradu

ate and secondary school students of exceptional merit are offered study and research opportunities largely during the summer period.

The estimated number of participating individuals by academic level and by type of program is shown in the following table:

Estimated numbers of individuals participating in National Science Foundation programs, fiscal year 1965 budget estimate

In Foundation-sponsored programs, grants are awarded to institutions and individuals on the basis of the scientific or educational merit of a proposal. This principle results in some concentration of grant awards in certain geographic areas. The distribution of total awards, however, is generally proportional to the distribution of educational resources as measured by the number of degrees awarded in science and engineering. On the basis of total population, there is also considerable correlation in the distribution of total Foundation grants. The extent of this correlation is illustrated in the following summary table, which compares the regional distribution of total Foundation grants and contracts for fiscal year 1963 with the distribution of science and engineering degrees awarded in 1961-62 and the population as shown in the 1960 census.

More than 70 percent of the amount of all Foundation grants and contracts in fiscal year 1963 were awarded to institutions in three regions. Institutions in these three regions, Northeast, North-Central, and Pacific produced about 71 percent of all degrees awarded in science and engineering in 1961-62.

Geographic distribution of NSF grants and contracts in fiscal year 1963, degrees awarded in the sciences and engineering in 1961-62, and population in 1960

Basic research and graduate science education resources are generally concentrated in three regions which produced 80 percent of the Ph. D. degrees awarded in science and engineering in 1961-62. These regions, the Northeast, North Central and Pacific received 80 percent of the Foundation's basic research grants in fiscal year 1963.

Geographic distribution of NSF basic research support, fiscal year 1963, and of Ph. D.'s awarded in the sciences and engineering, 1961-62

A broader distribution of the resources for science and technology can best be achieved by building greater strength in those institutions of higher learning which have the potential and the desire to increase their contribution in this area. Building institutional strength requires upgrading the teaching and research faculty in terms both of academic attainment and of the representation of scientific disciplines, providing needed improvements in facilities for research and education, and establishing higher scholastic standards for students. Institutions which already are strong in science and engineering are the principal source of new high-quality research and teaching personnel for academic staffs. Both the developing institutions and the existing centers of scientific strength require a steady influx of students adequately prepared to undertake rigorous courses of graduate study in the sciences and engineering. This means better education and training opportunities for students at the secondary school and undergraduate levels. These improvements are the responsibility of the political, industrial, and academic organizations in every area of the country as well as of the Federal Government.

A broader distribution of the resources for basic research and education in the sciences and engineering would be advantageous nationally. If this advantage is to be achieved it must be accomplished without weakening those institutions which are now the source of strength in these fields. Substantial and arbitrary changes in the distribution of Federal support for scientific research and education at the expense of support for strong institutions would not be in the national interest.

The National Science Foundation has for many years sponsored and supported programs which assist institutions to develop greater strength in science and engineering. Including fiscal year 1957, the first year in which substantial appropriations were made available to the National Science Foundation, $205 million has been used to improve the competence of science and mathematics teachers, largely at the secondary school level, and to modernize science and mathematics curriculums. Special projects in science education have been developed in collaboration with institutions of higher education to promote the achievement of bigh standards of scholarship by students. Many of these projects have been directed to outstanding secondary school and undergraduate students. Fellowships to support the advanced training of students in science and mathematics have cost approximately $87 million since 1957. A substantial proportion of the individuals trained under these fellowship programs become teachers and research scientists at universities and colleges. As a Federal contribution to the objective of a strong science and engineering competence in all regions of the country, these programs have been effective. A much greater effort in this area is also necessary on the part of State and local governments, the Federal Government, and private organizations and individuals.

The Foundation's appropriation for fiscal year 1965 proposes a major increase in several programs which will contribute directly to the improvement of the distribution of science and engineering resources. About $80 million of the $129 million increase above fiscal year 1964 will be applied in programs which

assist in the strengthening of institutions of higher learning on a broad geographic base. These programs include the science development program ($25 million), graduate science facilities ($45 million), instructional equipment for undergraduate education ($15 million), institutional base grants ($13 million), and science education programs ($137 million), including fellowships and traineeships ($54 million). The effectiveness of these programs is dependent upon the amount of money available for them. Since the Foundation is firmly committed to continuing strong programs in support of existing centers of graduate education and basic research, a greater effort to achieve an improved balance in the distribution of science and engineering education resources will be effective only if supported by increased appropriations.

A brief description of each of the Foundation's programs is shown on the following page, followed by a summary table showing the estimate for each program by fiscal year, a table showing the percentage distribution of funds among the programs, and a summary table of obligations by object of expenditure.

The Foundation supports basic research projects in the life, physical, and social sciences and in engineering, primarily at colleges and universities. Awards are made on the basis of competitive evaluation of the research proposed. It is estimated that in fiscal year 1965 the Foundation will receive basic research proposals requesting a total of $674 million and that grants awarded will total only 18.5 percent of the dollar amount requested. Average grant amounts have increased each year as a result of rising prices for equipment and supplies, the need for more complex equipment for some kinds of research, and increases in rates of pay for research project personnel. The average duration of grants awarded in fiscal year 1965 is expected to be about 2 years.

In fiscal year 1965 slightly over half of the average research grant amount will be used to pay the salaries of research project personnel. It is estimated that that a total of over 11,000 graduate students will gain valuable research experience by participation in Foundation-supported basic research projects. About 20 percent of the average research grant is used for the purchase of special equipment required for the research and about 11 percent is for supplies and other expenses of the projects. In addition, amounts up to 20 percent of direct project costs are paid to the grantee institutions as an overhead allowance.

Institutional base grants provide funds which may be used at the discretion of the individual institution to meet needs in science and science education that cannot be met through the project-oriented approach of most Federal programs. Grants awarded under this program have been used by colleges and universities for such purposes as the development of new departments, the employment of additional faculty and staff, and the purchase of research and instructional equipment.