[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3828-S3829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 
50th anniversary of the National Science Foundation, an institution 
that has served as a driving force behind the Nation's scientific and 
technological development.
  The National Science Foundation's roots can be found at the close of 
World War II, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested a report 
from the government's wartime Office of Scientific Research and 
Development outlining how the United States should support scientific 
research in the postwar era. The resulting report, Science--The Endless 
Frontier, authored by Vannevar Bush, made the case for the 
establishment of a National Research Foundation and legislation based 
upon his findings was introduced by Senator Warren Magnuson of 
Washington. After five years of deliberation in the Congress, President 
Harry S. Truman signed legislation creating the National Science 
Foundation on May 10, 1950. Since that day, NSF has played a vital role 
in maintaining America's leadership position in scientific discovery 
and the development of new technologies, securing the

[[Page S3829]]

nation's defense and promoting the nation's health and prosperity.
  Over the past 50 years, NSF-funded research has led to numerous 
scientific breakthroughs that have impacted the lives of every one of 
us. This research has resulted in projects and initiatives that include 
the development of the Internet, Doppler Radar, the American Sign 
Language Dictionary, DNA fingerprinting, MRI technology, barcodes, the 
identification of the Hanta Virus, and the discovery of the weather 
pattern known as El Nino/La Nina. This research has been responsible 
for creating new industries relating to communications, biotechnology, 
agriculture, and other important sectors of our economy. In turn, these 
industries have resulted in greater employment opportunities, economic 
prosperity and an improved quality of life for Americans and citizens 
around the world.
  NSF funds support the work and research of almost 200,000 people, 
including teachers, students, researchers, post-doctorates, and 
trainees. In fact, researchers and educators from each of the 50 states 
and all U.S. territories have been allotted NSF funding in the form of 
competitively awarded, grants, contracts and cooperative agreements. 
Almost 40% of the funding for research grants is awarded to our 
nation's students and researchers, providing support for more than 
61,000 post-doctorates, trainees and graduates and undergraduate 
students. These are the individuals who will carry on the critical 
mission of NSF into the 21st century.
  The work undertaken by NSF researchers has not gone unnoticed. NSF-
supported researchers have been the recipients of numerous awards and 
honors. More than 100 of these researchers have been awarded Nobel 
Prizes in fields that include physics, chemistry, physiology and 
economics. NSF researchers have also been awarded the National Medal of 
Science, National Medal of Technology, the Waterman, the Draper, the 
Presidential Early Career Awards in Science and Engineering and the 
Career awards, to name a few.
  I want to commend the men and women who have worked for NSF and 
received support from NSF who have contributed incalculably to the 
efforts that have established the United States as the leader in 
scientific and technological innovation and I want to recognize the 
outstanding leadership of the current Director of the National Science 
Foundation, Dr. Rita Colwell, in this regard. I urge my colleagues to 
join with me in commending NSF on this important occasion and wishing 
them continued success in the years ahead.

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