Institutional base grants are determined by a formula which is based upon the amount of Foundation grants made to institutions for specific science purposes. Fiscal year 1965 grants in this program will equal 100 percent of the first $10,000 of Foundation grants for basic research and related science education projects, plus a graduated percentage of the amount of the grants in excess of $10,000. It is estimated that about 100 institutions will receive grants of $10,000 or less, about 40 will receive $100,000 or more, and the remaining 275 will receive grants within the $10,000 to $100,000 range.

In many institutions the lack of modern scientific equipment is a major obstacle to the improvement of instruction in the sciences. This program helps colleges and universities overcome equipment deficienceis by providing matching grants for the purchase of equipment that will significantly improve science instruction at the undergraduate level. Priority is given to science teaching units in which a competent faculty group has developed strong science courses based on current knowledge and techniques. In such cases, adequate quantities of appropriate equipment-properly used-may result in a markedly higher level of undergraduate instruction.

This program provides support for the renovation and construction of graduatelevel basic research and science education facilities and is complimentary to the undergraduate facilities program authorized by Public Law 88-204 and administered by the Office of Education. Program policies and procedures will be carefully coordinated with the Office of Education. Because of the tremendous demands on colleges and universities to conduct research and to provide educational opportunities for unprecedented numbers of students, the needs for science facilities are so great that only the most urgent proposals can be supported. Funds are provided on a matching basis and priority is given to those institutions which have demonstrated an ability to carry out superior programs of research and education in the sciences.

This program is being started in fiscal year 1964. During fiscal years 1964 and 1965 some 10 to 20 institutions will be helped to plan and carry out broad, coordinated efforts to strengthen substantially their research and education in the sciences and engineering. Funds will be provided to enable institutions to add

highly qualified scientists and engineers to their staffs, to introduce improved curriculums, to secure needed equipment and facilities, and to attract larger numbers of qualified students.

SPECIALIZED RESEARCH FACILITIES SUPPORT

Various kinds of modern research facilities are needed in order to make it possible for scientists to undertake broader, more complex research projects. In addition, adequate modern facilities make the individual investigator more productive by relieving him of many tasks formerly done by hand or by reducing or eliminating the time needed to adjust, maintain, and repair old and inadequate equipment. The availability of facilities for the most difficult and challenging research projects is also a factor in attracting sufficient numbers of promising graduate students into basic research. The required facilities are generally quite expensive and cannot be acquired by nonprofit academic or research institutions without substantial financial assistance from the Federal Government.

Biologists require such facilities as genetic stock centers and other repositories for special research materials; field stations, ships, and other facilities for obtaining and studying biological specimens; and special devices such as controlled environment facilities designed to duplicate some part or characteristic of the natural environment. Within the estimate of $6,500,000 for fiscal year 1965, about $2,500,000 will be used for oceanographic ships and facilities and about $4 million for other specialized biological facilities.

In fiscal years 1963 and 1964 this program supported facilities for physical oceanography, atmospheric sciences, and nuclear sciences research. In fiscal year 1965 the program will be expanded to include assistance for the purchase of chemistry research instruments, engineering research facilities, and astronomy research facilities in order to strengthen the basic research capabilities of U.S. universities in these important areas of science. A major project planned in this program for fiscal year 1965 is the funding of an electron synchrotron for elementary particle research at energy levels up to 10 billion electron volts. Foundation support in the amount of about $12 million will be required for this machine in fiscal year 1965.

The facilities needed by social scientists include field stations in remote areas for the study of primitive cultures; space for storage, classification, and analysis of data; and specialized equipment, such as the electrical and mechanical devices which have been developed for collecting and analyzing data in the fields of psychology and linguistics. A total amount of $700,000 is budgeted for such facilities in fiscal year 1965.

Computing facilities are an important tool for research in almost every branch of science. As computers become more powerful and, therefore, more useful and necessary for any university conducting high-quality basic research, they also become more expensive. This trend has been aggravated by increases of 100 percent in the cost to universities of certain machines. As a consequence, the amount of $9 million requested for fiscal year 1965 will support only about the same number of computing facilities grants as the $4,500,000 allocated to the program in fiscal year 1964.

The national research centers were established to provide facilities for cooperative research efforts involving participation by scientists from a number of universities. The centers are used primarily for basic research but also make a significant contribution to the training of graduate students in the fields of astronomy and the atmospheric sciences. The centers are operated by corporations formed by groups of universities.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is located near Green Bank, W. Va. The budget request of $4,100,000 for fiscal year 1965 will be used to add to the facilities of the Observatory as well as to provide operating funds for a staff of 210 persons. It is anticipated that 30 graduate and undergraduate students in the physical sciences and engineering will spend an average of 3 months each at the Observatory in fiscal year 1965.

The Kitt Peak National Observatory is located at Kitt Peak and Tucson, Ariz. The fiscal year 1965 estimate of $7,300,000 includes about $1,900,000 to begin construction of a 150-inch optical telescope, ultimately to cost $9,500,000, which will be the second largest in the world. In fiscal year 1965 the Observatory will have a staff of about 200 including 39 scientists and professional persons. More than half of the observing time on the Observatory's several telescopes will be available to visiting scientists and graduate students.

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory will provide astronomical facilities which will enable qualified U.S. scientists to investigate the phenomena of the sky visible from the Southern Hemisphere. The Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy, the university corporation which operates the Kitt Peak National Observatory, is developing and operating the Cerro Tololo Observatory. The fiscal year 1965 estimate for the Observatory is $1 million.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research at Boulder, Colo., is operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. In fiscal year 1965 the staff will reach nearly 350, including 170 scientific, engineering, and professional employees. Scientific visitors and graduate students number about 20 in the winter months and more than 60 during the summer. The permanent laboratory on Table Mountain, near Boulder, will be completed in fiscal year

NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

National research programs are those scientific research efforts which by their nature or because of unique logistic or other support requirements can best be planned, coordinated and funded on a centralized, national basis. Much of the research work of these programs is carried out at universities or by universityrelated scientists.

The Antarctic Continent and surrounding ocean areas provide a unique natural laboratory for research in the earth, life, and atmospheric sciences. The location of the South Geomagnetic Pole and the auroral zone on the continent makes it an incomparable site for studies of the upper atmosphere, radio waves, cosmic rays, and certain solar phenomena. The Antarctic atmosphere is essentially dust free, offering ideal conditions for examinations for cosmic dust and extraterrestrial particles. The National Science Foundation is responsible, by Executive order, for the development, cocrdination, management, and funding of all U.S. scientific activities in Antarctica. Logistic support is provided by the U.S. Navy. About 180 U.S. scientists will take part in field research work in Antarctica in fiscal year 1965 and 50 others will be involved in studies and analyses conducted in the United States.

The National Science Foundation has been assigned responsibility as the principal funding agency and coordinator of Federal support for U.S. participation in an international expedition to the Indian Ocean. The program includes geophysical and geological studies of the Indian Ocean Basin; chemical and physical examination of the waters of the Indian Ocean; study of plant and animal life; and study of the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. Several U.S. research vessels and scientists from a large number of U.S. institutions are taking part in the expedition.

Project Mohole is a program for sampling the earth's crust by underwater drilling, ultimately to depths sufficient to penetrate into the underlying mantle. The initial stages of drilling will involve sampling to intermediate depths both for scientific and for systems testing purposes. In fiscal year 1965 construction of the drilling platform will be started and the development and procurement of other components for the drilling system will continue.

The National Science Foundation is directed by Public Law 85-510 to support study, research, and evaluation in the field of weather modification. The Foundation also serves as coordinator of the entire Federal effort in this field. The amount of $1,500,000 estimated for fiscal year 1965 will be used to assist the development of the scientific bases of weather modification; to search for new techniques for influencing local storms; and to stimulate a comprehensive attack on the longrange problem of modifying the weather on regional or continental scales. The program supports both field and theoretical research and seeks to assist in bringing additional creative researchers into the field. Most Foundation-sponsored weather modification research is conducted by groups located at universities. The National Center for Atmospheric Research also makes an important contribution to research related to weather modification.

The United States-Japan cooperative science program was established in fiscal year 1963 in accordance with agreements between President Kennedy and Prime Minister Ikeda. The program is intended to strengthen science in both countries and to encourage scientific cooperation through closely coordinated bilateral activities. Under the program, each country supports the costs of its own scientists taking part in cooperative projects.

This program provides support for the participation of U.S. scientists in a coordinated international effort of special research during the period of minimum solar activity expected in calendar years 1964 and 1965. In addition to funding all research efforts undertaken especially for the IQSY program by university and Government laboratories, the Foundation is responsible for correlating all Federal activities related to the program. The IQSY program includes observations of solar activity, geomagnetism, aurora and airglow, ionospheric physics, cosmic rays, space research, meteorology and aeronomy, with emphasis on geophysical phenomena most strongly affected by variations in solar activity, The data will be complementary to those collected during the IGY, a period of unusually intense solar activity.

SCIENCE INFORMATION SERVICES

The Science Information Services activity is designed to promote the development and improvement of systems and techniques for handling scientific information and making it readily available to scientists.

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