Thursday, November 8, 2001

NSF Appropriation Includes Moderate Increase for Technology Projects By DAN CARNEVALE Washington National Science Foundation officials said Wednesday that the money approved in a Congressional conference committee Tuesday will be more than enough to complete most of their plans for a moderate spending increase for information-technology research in the fiscal year that started October 1. William C. Noxon, the NSF's senior public-affairs specialist, said the technology-research projects are part of many larger budget items, which for the most part were well financed by Congress. The NSF will now decide how much of the appropriated money will go to information technology and other areas of research. When the NSF made its budget request, in April, the agency planned to spend $272.5-million on technology research, up 5 percent from the last fiscal year. The appropriations bill provides funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and various independent agencies, including the NSF. The conference committee's final version of the bill, which still needs approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives, designates $4.78-billion for the science foundation -- $319-million more than the agency requested. Among the technology projects in the works are super-fast computer networks, system designs with improved human-computer interfaces, and atomic-level processes that will replace silicon chips. Rita R. Colwell, director of the NSF, said the agency's information-technology research would help many academic disciplines. "Information technology really makes science and engineering move at an enormously rapid pace," Ms. Colwell said. "It's a head-swirling pace." Ms. Colwell said she was never worried that the terrorist attacks of September 11 would siphon away money from the agency. In fact, she said, technology spending will help fight the war. "We have such strong support in the White House, on [Capitol] Hill, and in the scientific and engineering community, but also I think it's well understood that in light of recent events, we are going to be able to defend ourselves best by being leaders in science, engineering, and technology," Ms. Colwell said. "That is how we're going to protect our homeland." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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