III 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 610 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 5, 2012 Mr. Rockefeller (for himself and Mrs. Hutchison) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program of the National Science Foundation.

Whereas the United States is a world leader in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fundamental research and related education; Whereas an excellent STEM higher-education system is critical to the development of a robust and inclusive U.S. STEM workforce and to U.S. global science and engineering preeminence; Whereas Congress and President Harry S. Truman created the National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent Federal agency, 62 years ago specifically to advance scientific discovery and innovation through the Nation’s basic research and STEM education infrastructure; Whereas fundamental research supported by NSF across all scientific disciplines have resulted in many significant contributions to Americans’ health and security, as well as to technological innovation and U.S. economic prosperity; Whereas advances in knowledge are made possible by researchers who focus on the fundamental properties of nature, and who mentor and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers; Whereas 60 years ago, NSF purposefully created the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) as an instrument to prepare the Nation’s reservoir of science and engineering talent; Whereas the GRFP, the country's oldest graduate fellowship program, supports outstanding graduate students pursuing masters and doctoral degrees in research at accredited U.S. institutions; Whereas the GRFP has contributed to the development of outstanding U.S. scholars, entrepreneurs, teachers, mentors, and inventors who continue to support and promote the Nation’s science and engineering enterprise and the next generation of scientists and engineers; Whereas this flagship program helps maintain high-quality and highly skilled graduates who enter the Nation’s STEM workforce prepared to innovate and collaborate in the global scientific arena; Whereas NSF has funded more than 46,500 competitive graduate research fellows with selection criteria based on the intellectual merit of their research and its potential broader impacts for society; Whereas of the more than 200 NSF-supported Nobel laureates, 40 were selected as graduate research fellows, and more than 440 graduate research fellows have become members of the National Academy of Sciences; Whereas graduate research fellows have an exceptionally high rate of doctorate completion; Whereas since 2001, graduate research fellows have filed more than 1,000 patents while working toward their graduate degrees, thus contributing directly to scientific advancement and discovery; Whereas since 2007, 1145 graduate research fellows were selected from Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research jurisdictions; and Whereas NSF’s GRFP continues to be an essential component of the Nation’s discovery and innovation ecosystem, and is instrumental in STEM workforce development: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program of the National Science Foundation; and (2)continues to recognize U.S. STEM graduate education as central to U.S. workforce competitiveness and our country’s international leadership and economic prosperity.