America's Investment in the Future - National Science Foundation

185 Pages·2001·6.27 MB·English

America’s
Investment
in the
Future
N S F C E L E B R A T I N G 5 0 Y E A R S
Foreword by Wal te r Cronk i te Photos by Fe l i ce F ranke l
On the cover
Part liquid, part magnet, this ferrofluid
serves as a symbol of NSF’s dual mission—
research and education. Precisely ground parti-
cles of magnetite in the ferrofluid remain loose
and suspended in an oil. When the ferrofluid
is placed in a magnetic field, it recalls its mag-
netic heritage. Here, a drop of ferrofluid rests
on a glass sheet placed above a piece of yel-
low paper. Photographer Felice Frankel then
placed seven small magnets under the paper.
The attraction between the magnetite and the
magnets creates the beautiful flower-like form.
America’s
Investment
in the
Future
N S F C E L E B R A T I N G 5 0 Y E A R S
Foreword by Wal te r Cronk i te Photos by Fe l i ce F ranke l
Cover and opening photogaphs for each chapter
©2000 by Felice Frankel. These photographs
cannot be reproduced without permission of
the photographer.
Printed in the United States of America
Book and cover design: Low + Associates Inc.
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
703-292-5111
TDD 703-292-5090
www.nsf.gov
NSF 00-50
www.nsf.gov
Contents
Foreword by Walter Cronkite v
Introduction by NSF Director Rita R. Colwell 1
Internet
changing the way we communicate 4
Advanced Materials
the stuff dreams are made of 18
Education
lessons about learning 32
Manufacturing
the forms of things unknown 48
Arabidopsis
map makers of the plant kingdom 62
Decision Sciences
how the game is played 76
Visualization
a way to see the unseen 88
Environment
taking the long view 102
Astronomy
exploring the expanding universe 118
Science on the Edge
arctic and antarctic discoveries 132
Disasters & Hazard Mitigation
living more safely on a restless planet 146
About the Photographs 160
Photo Captions and Credits 163
Acknowledgments 166
National Science Board Members 170
National Science Foundation Executive Staff 171
About the National Science Foundation 172
Table of Contents — iii
Foreword by Walter Cronkite
It may seem ironic that I—a man who failed first-year physics at the University of Texas—
am writing the foreword to a book about the National Science Foundation.
I’m not a scientist. I’ll never experience the thrill and analysis it took to get to the headline. Even
of formulating a new algorithm or unlocking a new though we’re not scientists, this book can help us
gene sequence. But you don’t have to be a scientist all to see beneath the surface of things and to
(or even have passed a physics course) to under- appreciate how NSF enables researchers to advance Walter Cronkite today (top) and aboard
stand and appreciate the National Science the frontiers of knowledge in every direction. the NSF-funded expedition on The Alvin
Foundation. If you’ve ever surfed the Web or sent Congress established the National Science in 1982.
an e-mail, thank NSF. NSF also played a role in the Foundation in 1950 to transform wartime research
development of wireless communications, advanced into a peacetime engine for prosperity and national
medical diagnostics, and more accurate weather security. The Foundation has succeeded master-
forecasting. The list of scientific discoveries and fully, albeit quietly, in achieving these goals. Maybe
engineering feats that NSF has supported over that’s because NSF does not operate any labora-
the past fifty years will surprise you. tories, conduct any experiments, or land any
In 1982 I had the good fortune to accompany astronauts on the moon. Rather, NSF is the nation’s
marine biologists on a deep-sea dive off the coast single largest funder of laboratories and experiments,
of Mexico. It was an NSF-funded research mission. of the kind of exploratory research that quietly
As The Alvin descended deeper and deeper into plants seeds today that make headlines tomorrow.
the ocean, I observed a world that I never knew This book tells the stories behind those head-
existed, a world beneath the surface that is vast lines—stories about the men and women who are
and varied. helping us to understand the world around us.
This book, like my adventure on The Alvin, opened For the past fifty years, this has been the story
my eyes. Eighteen years ago, I was so awed by of the National Science Foundation.
the ocean’s secrets I didn’t stop to think about Near the end of A Reporter’s Life, I wrote:
how they were revealed. Today, when we read a “A career can be called a success if one can look
story about cloning sheep or about amazingly back and say, ‘I made a difference.’” After reading
strong molecules, most of us don’t stop to think this book, I think you’ll agree that the National
about the years of trial and error, experimentation Science Foundation is doing just that.
Foreword — v
The National Science Foundation at 50
Where Discoveries Begin
At the National Science Foundation, we invest in America’s future. Our support of creative people,
innovative ideas, and cutting-edge technologies has led to thousands of discoveries vital to our
nation’s health and prosperity.
Unique among federal research agencies, the All in all, NSF’s role in the birth of the Internet When she assumed her post in August
National Science Foundation’s mission is to is a per fect example of how the right public 1998, Dr. Rita Colwell became the
advance learning and discovery in all disciplines investment can lead to huge societal pay-offs. Foundation’s first female director. She
is a nationally respected scientist and
of science and engineering and to foster connec- Other stories you’ll read here highlight NSF’s
educator. Before she became NSF director,
tions among them. Our job is to keep science instrumental role in such important innovations Dr. Colwell was president of the University
and engineering visionaries focused on the as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, one of of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and
furthest frontier, to recognize and nurture emerging the most comprehensive medical diagnostic tools; professor of microbiology at the University
fields, to prepare the next generation of scientific the identification of the “ozone hole” over the of Maryland where she produced the
talent, and to ensure that all Americans gain an Antarctic and chlorofluorocarbons as the probable award-winning film, Invisible Seas.
understanding of what science and technology cause; advances in the underlying mathematics While at the University of Maryland, Dr.
have to offer. of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer- Colwell also served as director of the Sea
Grant College and as vice president for
Retired hockey star Wayne Gretzky used to say, aided manufacturing (CAM), two techniques that
academic affairs.
“I skate to where the puck is going, not to where power much of U.S. industry’s global competitive-
it’s been.” At NSF, we try to fund where the fields ness; and many other discoveries.
are going, not where they’ve been. In marking our The point to remember is that these and other
fiftieth anniversary, we are celebrating this kind advances came only after long years of publicly
of vision and foresight. funded basic research that NSF had identified as
For example, as chronicled in this book, NSF among the most promising avenues for exploration.
began funding efforts in the mid-1980s to expand Businesses, understandably, tend to make research
what was largely a Department of Defense net- investments that pay off in the short term. Other
worked computer system into the civilian realm. federal agencies have as their mission the oceans,
NSFNET linked NSF-supported supercomputer energy, defense, or health, and they fund research
centers at five universities and was open to all that directly relates to those missions. In contrast,
academic users. Response was so great that NSF NSF’s mandate is broad, deep, and long: to invest
was soon able to turn much of the burgeoning in educational programs and fundamental, multi-
network over to the private sector. Meanwhile, a disciplinary research of strategic, long-term interest
student working at one of the NSF supercomputer to the nation.
centers developed the first major Web browser, Science—The Endless Frontier, a 1945 report
Mosaic. Other NSF-funded research led to the first by Vannevar Bush, a respected engineer and
widely used Internet routers, the gateways and President Franklin Roosevelt’s science advisor,
switches that guide information around the globe. made the case for why the federal government
Besides enabling the freer flow and more sophis- should actively promote the progress of research
ticated manipulation of information, the Internet and science-related education. On May 10, 1950,
has triggered a surge of new business activity, President Harry Truman signed the bill creating
which some say will amount to $1.3 trillion in the National Science Foundation. Now, fifty years
e-commerce activity by 2003. later, we are reaping the rewards of this prescient
Introduction — 1