## Mathematical AND Physical Sciences \$941,570,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Activity is \$941.57 million, an increase of \$21.12 million, or 2.3
percent, over the FY 2002 Current Plan of \$920.45 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image1.wmf)

> Totals may not add due to rounding.

The Mathematical and Physical Sciences Activity (MPS) supports a strong
and diverse portfolio of research and education in astronomical
sciences, chemistry, materials research, mathematical sciences and
physics. The purpose of this work is threefold: to deepen our
understanding of the physical universe; to use this understanding in
service to society; and to prepare the next generation of scientists who
are essential for continued progress. The mathematical and physical
sciences underpin many other scientific endeavors and serve as the
training ground for at least half of all doctoral scientists now
employed in U.S. industry. The MPS Activity supports areas of inquiry
that are critical for long-term U.S. economic strength and security,
providing a substantial portion of federal funding for fundamental
research at academic institutions in these areas, and in some subfields,
provides for most of the federal investment.

The new opportunities are many. Research at the atomic level will result
in a period of discovery that could be termed a "molecular revolution.\"
The study of complex chemical and physical systems offers critical
insights into climate change and other natural phenomena. Biological
systems can be understood and controlled via powerful mathematical and
physical techniques, such as the creation of algorithms critical for
drug design and for the development of biopolymers, gels, and other
biomolecular materials. Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics is
leading to profound new understandings of the physics of the universe.
New tools critical to scientific progress -- from advanced magnets, to
novel sensors, to quantum computers, to more powerful telescopes -- are
being developed and refined, and will make possible the understanding of
physical phenomena at a much more profound level. Essential to achieving
these goals is the development of new mathematical tools and algorithms
for modeling and simulation of physical and biological phenomena.

MPS places a high priority on multidisciplinary work and on
partnerships. The Multidisciplinary Activities Subactivity is designed
to catalyze efforts in emerging areas of research and education at
disciplinary boundaries. By fostering closer connections with other
federal agencies, state governments, industry, and other countries, MPS
investigators enhance the impact of their efforts and increase the
return on NSF investments.

International partnerships are critical to progress, both intellectually
and financially, especially in the areas of astronomy, physics, and
materials research, all of which require the use of large facilities. An
example is the strong international cooperation that the Astronomy
Subactivity has generated in support of the Gemini Observatories.
Another is the collaboration with the Department of Energy\'s (DOE)
Office of Science and with the European Organization for Nuclear
Research (CERN) that the Physics Subactivity has pursued toward the
development of detectors for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

World leadership in science is a critical objective for the Foundation.
Receipt of Nobel Prizes by MPS-supported physical scientists and Fields
Medals by MPS-supported mathematical scientists is a strong indicator of
the long-term importance of MPS research. The 2001 Nobel Prize in
Physics was awarded to three researchers -- Eric Cornell of the Joint
Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) & the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST), Wolfgang Ketterle of MIT, and Carl
Wieman of the University of Colorado -- for their achievement of
Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for
early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates. The
Bose-Einstein Condensate is regarded as a new state of matter in which
all the constituents, by virtue of their near-absolute zero low
temperature, are in the same quantum state, much as the light from a
laser for which all the light is emitted with a single lock-step phase,
e.g. coherent. For this new state of matter, the corresponding atom
waves are coherent, such that when two separate condensates are allowed
to overlap, the resulting intensity pattern shows light and dark
interference fringes rather than simple additive densities. Current
speculation suggests that this new level of \"control\" of matter is
going to bring revolutionary applications in such fields as precision
measurement and nanotechnology.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001 was awarded to William S. Knowles,
Monsanto (retired); Ryoji Noyori, Nagoya University; and K. Barry
Sharpless, Scripps Research Institute for their development of catalytic
techniques for asymmetric chemical synthesis. In nature, many molecules
are found in mirror image, right-handed or left-handed, forms. Often
only one of these asymmetric forms is biologically active. Sharpless
developed highly efficient catalytic synthetic techniques to selectively
produce only one of these mirror image forms. These techniques have
allowed pharmaceutical companies to synthesize only the mirror image
form that they want. The catalytic techniques developed as a result of
this basic research, supported by MPS since the 1970s, are now used by
pharmaceutical companies to produce, for example, beta-blocker
medication to control blood pressure.

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the United States, and
our nation's response to them, it is important to consider the dramatic
effects that the U.S. investment in fundamental physical sciences and
mathematics has had -- and will have -- on preparing the national
defense.

It is a remarkable fact that U.S. casualties in the Gulf War, in Bosnia,
and so far in Afghanistan have been almost non-existent, even though in
each of these conflicts basic U.S. objectives were achieved. These
results are not by accident, and have come about because of our ability
to fight a war "remotely". In significant measure this is due to such
recent advances as:

-   The development of ultra-precise atomic clocks, and special and
    general relativity, that have enabled the construction of the GPS
    navigation system;

-   The development of ultra-precise laser ranging and surveillance
    techniques;

-   The development of genetically-designed bacterial systems, as well
    as other kinds of nano-assemblies involving DNA, that glow only in
    the presence of a targeted pollutant, making possible the creation
    of very sensitive probes for rapid detection of specific chemical or
    biological activity that may be in the environment. This work has
    already been applied to the detection of anthrax spores;

-   The development of "adaptive optics" for use in the creation of
    ultra-high resolution spy satellites, cameras, and other
    surveillance means -- including the elimination of radio-frequency
    "jamming" signals that might otherwise block battlefield
    communications; and

-   The recently developed mathematical theory of wavelets has had a
    profound impact on data compression, signal analysis, scientific
    calculation, medical imaging and radar detection.  Wavelets identify
    the key features of an image and allow reconstruction of the image
    with only a tiny amount of information on the original object. 

Tools such as these have had an enormous positive impact on national
security. Each of these developments is the outgrowth of many years of
fundamental research, without which none of them would have been
conceived of as an initial objective. In the future we will need new
advances such as these, most of which cannot be envisioned today.

In FY 2003, MPS will support research and education efforts related to
broad, Foundation-wide priority areas in Biocomplexity in the
Environment, Information Technology Research, Nanoscale Science and
Engineering, Learning for the 21^st^ Century Workforce, and Mathematical
Sciences.

**Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE):** In FY 2003, the MPS request
includes \$4.70 million for Biocomplexity in the Environment, a decrease
of \$650,000 from the FY 2002 Current Plan. MPS continues to support a
variety of activities aimed at understanding environmental processes at
the molecular level, adapting advanced statistical techniques to analyze
environmental data, and developing environmentally benign materials and
processes. Examples of MPS supported research includes the development
of efficient catalysts for the removal of noxious species from
combustion exhaust, development of statistical models to describe
spatial and temporal variations of pollutant concentrations, and the
development of sensitive and specific techniques for sensing chemical
and biological agents in the environment.

In FY 2003, activities will be supported to integrate molecular level
studies already under way with global studies of geochemical and
geophysical cycles. Support will continue for the development of new or
adaptation of existing instrumentation for monitoring the environment.
MPS will also support the development of mathematical and statistical
techniques to aid in the analysis of environmental data and the
extrapolation of the data in time and space. A critical aspect of MPS
supported research in this area will be the development of a skilled,
multidisciplinary workforce and the creation of an informed public.

Information Technology Research (ITR): All of the MPS Subactivities
contribute to the national effort in ITR. Large-scale computational
science, as practiced by researchers in astronomy, chemistry, materials
research and physics, has dramatically improved our understanding of
fundamental scientific phenomena at all time and length scales. Today,
computation is increasingly being used to provide a quantitative
comparison with experiment, as a predictive tool when analytic theory
cannot be applied or to generate needed data where experiment is
difficult or impossible to perform. Algorithms, imaging methods, and
cryptographic techniques that are needed across an enormous spectrum of
activity in science, engineering, national defense, and business have
been developed or refined by MPS researchers. In addition, the need for
increasingly sophisticated techniques for gathering, transmitting,
manipulating, storing and analyzing experimental data in the physical
sciences has compelled MPS researchers to venture into new and
unexplored areas of information science. In many cases, these have grown
naturally from MPS research in various areas which have the potential of
bringing about entirely new ways of computing, such as quantum or
biological (DNA) based computing. In the former area, the rules of
quantum mechanics are exploited to expand our ability to store and
process information while in the latter, the molecular complexity of
bio-molecules is used to manipulate and store information.

MPS support for ITR will total \$35.52 million in FY 2003, an increase
of \$2.46 million over the FY 2002 Current Plan. This investment will
focus on specific thrusts that include:

-   Essential contributions to algorithm development, statistical
    analysis, optimization theory, network design, the physics of
    information, understanding the limits to computation, and the
    fundamentals of quantum, biological, molecular and optical
    computing;

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-   The development of ultra-miniature chemical switches, gates, new
    realizations of electronics and photonics, nano-devices, spintronics
    and totally new possibilities such as quantum, biological, molecular
    and optical computers; and

-   Advanced computational methods resulting, for example, in the design
    of more effective drugs and specialized materials, understanding the
    formation of galaxies and the intricacies of the atomic, molecular,
    electronic and nuclear many-body problem.

**Nanoscale Science and Engineering:** In FY 2003, the MPS request
includes \$103.92 million for nanoscale science and engineering, an
increase of \$10.84 million over the FY 2002 Current Plan. MPS grantees
have contributed significantly to many of the exciting advances made
over the past year, which illustrate both the scientific fascination and
the technological potential of nanoscale phenomena and structures. For
example, at the extreme nanoscale limit, artificial atoms and molecules
can now be fabricated. Researchers at Cornell University are exploring
the fundamental physical processes at work in this new regime, including
how individual quantum states can be manipulated for sensor and memory
applications.

In FY 2003, MPS will continue to play a major role in the NSF
contribution to the interagency National Nanotechnology Initiative. MPS
participation will be especially critical in the area of Nanoscale
Structures, Phenomena and Quantum Control. MPS support will also
contribute significantly to the overall NSF effort including
Multi-scale, Multi-phenomena Modeling and Simulation at the Nanoscale;
Nanostructures in the Environment; Biosystems at the Nanoscale;
Manufacturing; and Device and Systems Architecture. An integral
component of this priority area includes the preparation and training of
the future workforce for this technologically pivotal field.

**Mathematical Sciences:** In FY 2003, the MPS request includes \$47.39
million for the Mathematical Sciences priority area, an increase of
\$17.39 million over the FY 2002 Current Plan. Science and engineering
are becoming more dependent on mathematical and statistical methods, not
only in the physical, engineering and informational sciences, but also
the biological, geophysical, environmental, social, behavioral, and
economic sciences. Hence, progress in science and engineering is
fundamentally linked with advances across the mathematical sciences and
thus the mathematical sciences play a crucial role in reshaping modern
science and engineering. Primarily through the Division of Mathematical
Sciences, MPS plays a central role in the support of the mathematical
sciences.

The mathematical sciences priority area encompasses interdisciplinary
efforts between mathematics and all areas of science, engineering and
science education. The MPS investments in the priority area will fall
into three primary components: (1) fundamental mathematical and
statistical sciences, (2) interdisciplinary research connecting the
mathematical sciences with science and engineering, and (3) mathematical
sciences education.

The fundamental mathematical sciences are essential not only for the
progress of research across disciplines, but they are also critical in
training a scientific workforce for the future. MPS will provide
improved support for mathematical sciences through focused research
groups and individual investigator grants, as well as through institute
and postdoctoral training activities.

Built upon a \$30.0 million investment for interdisciplinary mathematics
in FY 2002, MPS will initially emphasize three broad interdisciplinary
research themes for FY 2003:

-   The mathematical and statistical challenges posed by large data sets
    such as those generated by genomics research, satellite observation
    systems, seismic networks, global oceanic and atmospheric
    observation networks, automated physical science instruments, and
    modern engineering sensor and actuator systems.

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-   Managing and modeling uncertainty, where improved methods for
    assessing uncertainty will increase the utility of models across the
    sciences and engineering and result in better predictions of extreme
    or singular events, thus improving the safety and reliability in
    such systems as power grids, the Internet, and air traffic control.

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-   Modeling complex nonlinear systems, where across the sciences there
    is a great need to analyze and predict emergent complex properties,
    from social behaviors to brain function, and from communications
    networks to multi-scale business information systems.

To enhance research in these areas of science and engineering that
depend on crosscutting themes in the mathematical sciences, MPS support
will encompass such efforts as interdisciplinary focused research
groups, interdisciplinary cross-training programs, and partnership
activities with other NSF Activities and Federal Agencies. Education and
training activities will support the advancement of mathematical skills
and the mathematical sciences workforce, with support for undergraduate
and graduate education and postdoctoral training coupled with curriculum
reform.

**Learning for the 21^st^ Century Workforce:** MPS support for this
priority area in FY 2003 will total \$5.97 million, an increase of
\$970,000 over the FY 2002 Current Plan. This includes continued support
for the GK-12 program, the Digital Library program, the Centers for
Learning and Teaching program, and for the Interagency Education
Research Initiative, a collaborative program with the Department of
Education and the National Institutes of Health.

#### STRATEGIC GOALS

MPS's support for ongoing and new activities contributes to NSF efforts
to achieve its strategic goals, as well as to the administration and
management activities necessary to achieve those goals. MPS's investment
in NSF's strategic goals is as follows:

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image2.wmf)

> Totals may not add due to rounding.
>
> ^1^ Includes only costs charged to the Research and Related Activities
> Appropriation.

#### People

People are NSF\'s most important product. At NSF, placing research and
learning hand-in-hand is our highest priority, and the people involved
in our projects represent the focus of our investments. Across its
programs, MPS provides support for approximately 20,000 people,
including teachers, students, researchers, post-doctorates, and
trainees. Support for programs specifically addressing NSF\'s strategic
outcome of People -- "developing a diverse, internationally competitive
and globally-engaged workforce of scientists, engineers and
well-prepared citizens\" totals more than \$116.53 million in FY 2003,
an increase of \$16.12 million, or 16.1 percent, over FY 2002.

A well prepared, broadly trained, and internationally capable workforce
that draws from the nation's entire talent pool is critical to U.S.
security and to its technological and economic leadership. This
workforce will be responsible for bringing forth the ideas and
discoveries that expand the frontiers of understanding, for developing
and using the new tools that enable discovery and learning in this new
millennium, and for strengthening the educational systems and processes
that will prepare future generations of scientifically literate
citizens. Through its investment in research and education activities of
individual investigators, groups, centers, and facilities, MPS enables
the development of this critically important workforce.

Moreover, about 45 percent of the funding for research grants \-- an
amount approaching \$260 million in FY 2003 \-- provides support for
researchers and students, including approximately 12,000
post-doctorates, trainees, and graduate and undergraduate students.
Although MPS spends approximately one-third of its budget on graduate
education and postdoctoral training, funding identified in the table
below includes only dedicated education and training activities
supported by MPS alone and in partnership with other Activities, and
excludes the much more extensive education and training activities
supported by MPS through research awards and those taking place at
centers and facilities.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image3.wmf)

> Totals may not add due to rounding.

MPS programs such as Research Experiences for Teachers, an effort of
high school outreach by individual investigators, centers and
facilities, and Research Sites for Educators in Chemistry enable
improved mathematics, science, and technology skills at the K-16 level
and enhanced understanding of science by the public. Increased diversity
in the science and technology and instructional workforce is facilitated
through MPS support of partnerships between minority-serving
institutions and MPS centers and facilities, through the more than 200
MPS-supported REU Sites (whose participant cohort is over 50% female and
more than 15% minority), and through a spectrum of developmental
workshops and conferences.

MPS also promotes the global engagement of science and engineering
professionals through support of cooperative international research
projects and international research fellowships, advanced study
institutes, and disciplinary workshops.

The FY 2003 MPS investments in People include:

-   At the K-12 level, total support will be \$6.23 million, a decrease
    of \$100,000. MPS will maintain its investment in the Research
    Experiences for Teachers (RET) program that enriches K-12 teachers
    by providing discovery-based learning experiences that will transfer
    to their classrooms from work performed at MPS centers, facilities,
    and REU Sites. Also, the Centers for Learning and Teaching,
    initiated in FY 2002 jointly with the EHR Activity, will be
    continued (at \$1.0 million) as will web-based education activities
    that engage both K-12 teachers and students in a broad spectrum of
    MPS science.

-   At the undergraduate level, MPS investment will be \$22.46 million.
    This will enable continued support of the Research Experiences for
    Undergraduates (REU) program through funding of REU sites, and
    through REU supplements to individual investigator and group
    research grants. In partnership with the EHR Activity, the
    development of digital libraries with increased MPS-relevant content
    will continue to be supported. Also in FY 2003, integrative
    multidisciplinary undergraduate education and research training
    activities that focus on quality non-doctoral institutions will be
    developed jointly with the BIO and other NSF Activities.

-   MPS support at the graduate and professional level will increase in
    FY 2003 by \$14.27 million to \$85.34 million. In this area,
    investment in the Integrative Graduate Education and Research
    Traineeship (IGERT), CAREER, and ADVANCE programs will be increased.
    The Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the
    Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) program, which seeks to increase the
    number of U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents who
    pursue careers in the mathematical sciences, will be expanded
    significantly to \$26.0 million. Investment in the broadened
    training of graduate students and postdoctorals in MPS disciplines
    will be increased and support will be provided for senior faculty to
    expand the disciplinary scope of their research programs,
    particularly at the interfaces with the BIO and GEO activities.
    Support for the Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship
    and the MPS Distinguished International Postdoctoral Research
    Fellowship programs will be maintained. Investment in cooperative
    international training-through-research activities that increase the
    global competitiveness of U.S. scientists, engineers, postdoctorals,
    and graduate students in the MPS disciplines will be increased.

-   MPS will support public science education at the level of \$2.50
    million. Investment in the MPS Internships in Public Science
    Education (IPSE) program, begun in FY 2001, will be increased to
    \$2.25 million. This program supports undergraduate and graduate
    students and K-12 teachers to partner with MPS research scientists
    and with professionals at science centers and museums on projects in
    public science education. Museum exhibits such as the Smithsonian
    Institution's exhibit on astrophysics and cosmology, *"Exploring the
    Universe,"* and science centers and visitors' centers at research
    facilities such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave
    Observatory (LIGO) are effective venues for engaging the public in
    the excitement of scientific discovery.

### Ideas

MPS supports a broad range of research activities aimed at addressing
some of the most fundamental questions that can be asked about the
universe in which we live as well as activities that provide the
understanding necessary for the development of new capabilities that
enhance mankind\'s ability to survive and flourish in this environment.
MPS-supported scientists are investigating the origins of the universe
and solar system, and they are developing theories of why matter exists.
They are also developing the techniques necessary to design and
synthesize new materials with useful and predictable chemical and
physical properties. In addition they are applying sophisticated
mathematical and statistical techniques to areas as diverse as medical
imaging and voting behavior. Support for Ideas accounts for about
two-thirds of the funding in the MPS Activity. Awards range from support
of single investigators to centers or groups of investigators.

An increasing number of interesting and important research activities
are found at the intersection of the mathematical and physical and other
sciences such as biology and the geological sciences. Problems in these
areas require expertise from a number of disciplines for their solution.
In a continuation of activities initiated in FY 2002 MPS is joining with
the Biological Sciences Activity (BIO) to jointly review and fund
proposals in this boundary area. MPS will also be joining with the
Geosciences Activity (GEO) to develop mechanisms for responding to
research opportunities in the new and evolving multidisciplinary areas
at this boundary.

Funding for fundamental research will be supported at \$597.11 million
in FY 2003, an increase of \$8.51 million over FY 2002.
Interdisciplinary research is becoming an increasingly important aspect
of progress in all of the sciences. In FY 2003, funding will focus on
the following areas characterizing a large portion of the MPS portfolio:

-   **Mathematics:** Today\'s advances in science and engineering,
    driven in part by increasingly sophisticated and readily available
    computing environments, lift the mathematical sciences to the
    forefront of science and engineering research and reshape modern
    science and engineering discovery through quantitative predictions,
    modeling, visualization, computational algorithms, and optimization
    methods. Science and engineering are becoming more mathematical and
    statistical, not only in the physical, engineering and informational
    sciences, but also the biological, geophysical, environmental,
    social, behavioral, and economic sciences. While mathematical
    sciences are pervasive in science, technology and health,
    mathematics and statistics are often an invisible partner,
    encapsulated in algorithms, models, and software packages. Providing
    a rich descriptive, quantitative, and predictive language for
    science and engineering, today's mathematical sciences (1) develop
    models and simulations to complement theory and computation, (2)
    provide the geometrization of science through descriptions of shape,
    motion and symmetry, (3) provide structure to randomness and massive
    data sets, (4) describe the nonlinearity of 21st century complex
    phenomena, and (5) contribute to national needs through genome
    sequencing, predicting disease spread, providing secure
    telecommunications, or real-time inverse imaging from physical
    terrain to human brain functions.

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-   **Origins of the Universe:** The advances made by astronomers in
    understanding the universe as a whole as well as the objects within
    it, coupled with the advances made by physicists in understanding
    the deepest inner workings of matter, space and time have brought us
    to a special moment in our journey to understand the universe and
    the physical laws that govern it. The questions now being asked
    about the universe are among the most profound questions that human
    beings have ever posed about the cosmos: What is the nature of the
    dark matter that holds galaxies and clusters of galaxies together
    yet gives off no light? What is the nature of the \"dark energy"
    whose gravity is repulsive rather than attractive? How did the
    universe begin? Do planetary systems and life exist elsewhere in the
    universe? These critical questions require many complementary
    contributions from astrophysics, particle physics, gravitational
    physics, astrochemistry and astrobiology, and the combined efforts
    of agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration and the Department of Energy in addition to NSF.

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-   **The Quantum Realm:** The pace of discovery in the quantum realm is
    accelerating worldwide. This area of research covers diverse topics
    such as the fundamental makeup of matter, the nature of the chemical
    reactions, and the development of new materials. New phenomena are
    emerging as our probes are refined, and new areas of science are
    opening, some with enormous potential for practical application. For
    example, researchers are beginning to see ways of utilizing the
    quantum nature of elemental systems to create quantum computers able
    to tackle problems that are far beyond the scope of present day
    computers. Increasingly, scientists and engineers will view
    manipulation and control of the arrangement of individual atoms or
    molecules as a unifying theme, and functionality will become a
    predictable consequence of what they synthesize. Importantly, the
    excitement of this new science is capturing the imagination of the
    young people needed to build and sustain our scientific and
    technological future.

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-   **Molecular Connections:** In recent years, our ability to observe
    and measure molecular level phenomena has increased dramatically. It
    is now possible to see and manipulate individual atoms and molecules
    and to measure phenomena such as chemical bond breaking and
    formation in real time and on the femtosecond timescale.
    Complementing these experimental capabilities are recent advances in
    mathematical and computational modeling that make it possible in
    many cases to predict physical and chemical properties of materials
    systems. These developments have permitted researchers to understand
    chemical and material properties at new levels of detail, and they
    have the potential to aid in the creation of future technologies
    critical to environmental, medical, and technological advances.
    Improved electronic and optical components, coatings, chemicals, and
    pharmaceuticals will continue to result from research in molecular
    science and engineering. Understanding phenomena at the molecular
    level is also critical to continued progress in genetics,
    neurobiology, ecosystem dynamics, climate studies, novel materials
    development, drug design and smart manufacturing. MPS will give high
    priority to the design, synthesis and characterization of
    nanostructures.

In FY 2003, MPS will continue its efforts to address the Foundation-wide
concern about grant sizes by increasing the average size and duration of
awards. MPS will also continue to emphasize competitive research grants
for new investigators and investigators who are members of
underrepresented groups.

In support of the increasingly complex and multidisciplinary nature of
research, MPS also supports a number of centers:

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image4.wmf)

> Totals may not add due to rounding.
>
> ^1^Funding in FY 2002 represents support for the cohort of STCs
> awarded in FY 2000.
>
> ^2^Materials Centers includes support for MRSECs, International
> Materials Institutes and Collaboratives for Materials Research and
> Education.

Center-based research brings together scientists from diverse
disciplines to work on complex problems, often in partnerships with
other academic institutions, national laboratories, and industry.
Centers are strongly committed to the integration of research and
education at levels from pre-college to postdoctoral, they maintain
sophisticated experimental facilities generally accessible to a broad
range of users, and they play an important role in developing human
resources in science and mathematics.

In FY 2003, MPS will support four Science and Technology Centers (STC);
about 28 Materials Science and Engineering Research Centers (MRSEC)
depending on the outcome of the open MRSEC competition in FY 2002; up to
three International Materials Institutes as a result of the FY 2002
competition; approximately 20 Chemistry Centers pending the outcome of
competitions in FY 2002; up to four new Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC);
and up to three Mathematical Sciences Research Institutes (MSRI). Six
Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSECs) established in FY 2001
are supported in whole or in part by MPS.

MPS Centers integrate cutting-edge research with a broad spectrum of
educational and outreach activities; they help to bring science and
engineering to a wider audience and to foster international cooperation
in research and education. For example, 450 undergraduates participated
in summer research programs at the materials research centers in FY
2001, while 900 pre-college teachers participated in various MRSEC
activities including the MPS-sponsored Research Experience for Teachers
program. MPS Centers can also help to enhance minority participation in
science and mathematics; for example, a new masters' program in
materials physics, the first graduate program at the University of
Puerto Rico at Humacao, has been developed through collaboration with
the MRSEC at the University of Pennsylvania.

In FY 2003, support for centers will include:

Support for international center-to-center collaboration in materials
research and education will be enhanced by up to \$1.0 million. The
International Materials Institutes will foster interaction in materials
research and education between U.S. and foreign investigators.

At least three additional Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) will be
established in addition to the four started in FY 2001. Total support
for PFCs will increase from \$12.0 million to \$13.0 million. These
centers will serve as focal points to help catalyze new fields, with the
resources and infrastructure to enable development of the new tools and
techniques needed, and to facilitate exploration of new directions in a
way that is not practical in individual investigator awards.

An increase of \$1.17 million will establish up to three new
interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences Research Institutes (MSRI). The
MSRIs address diverse challenges and opportunities facing the nation to
which the mathematical sciences can contribute, and promote the
integration of research and education.

Support decreases by \$3.20 million to \$10.39 million for Chemistry
Centers, but the planned phase-out of some established centers will
allow approximately 1-2 new Chemistry Centers in advanced molecular
characterization and in environmental molecular science. Chemistry
Centers serve to develop interdisciplinary collaborations in areas of
chemistry ranging from environmental molecular research to femtosecond
molecular structure characterization to the development of new
techniques for rapid sequencing of proteins.

**Tools**

Today the pace and breadth of scientific discovery is growing at an
unprecedented rate, driven by numerous revolutions in tools for science;
and the U.S. has a leadership role in this process. Tools have allowed a
stunning view into nature that has captured the imagination of the world
-- from the far reaches of the universe and the beginnings of time to
the fundamental makeup of matter and the workings of life. Today's
scientific agenda involves phenomena at or beyond the limits of our
measurement capabilities, and can only be studied with new generations
of powerful, complex, and costly tools. While the needed investment will
have great scientific payoff, investment in instrumentation has many
other payoffs, such as the training of our workforce and the next
generation of leaders in science. This training is critical to our
national security -- in terms of our economic security, our energy
security, and our technological and industrial base that supports
homeland security and national defense.

Continued advances and leadership in astronomy, physics, and many areas
of materials science depend critically on the availability of
state-of-the-art user facilities to enable research and education at the
cutting edge of science for large communities of university faculty and
students. Investment in facilities necessarily requires support for
ongoing operations, maintenance, and periodic upgrades to the core
facility as well as to ancillary instrumentation that may be needed to
provide continued forefront research opportunities to these users.

R&D towards new capabilities at existing facilities and for new
facilities to meet the needs of the MPS disciplines is essential. Such
activities include: R&D toward the next generation LIGO detectors,
future accelerators at the energy frontier, and new capabilities at the
national astronomy centers. In addition, MPS manages the U.S. Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) detector construction project jointly with the
Department of Energy and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)
construction project jointly with international partners. Both projects
represent the highest priorities within their respective user
communities -- the astronomy community and the elementary particle
physics community. Both are funded through the Major Research Equipment
and Facility Construction (MREFC) Account. For additional information,
see the MREFC Account section.

![](media/image5.wmf)(Millions of Dollars)

In FY 2003, major facilities support includes the following:

-   An increase of \$3.55 million, to a total of \$29.50 million, for
    support of full operation of the two LIGO sites in Hanford,
    Washington and Livingston Parish, Louisiana. The FY 2003 funds will
    provide for operations and research staff support for running the
    two sites and continued improvement of the gravitational strain
    sensitivity.

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-   An increase of \$340,000 to a total of \$12.60 million provides
    NSF's contribution to support the Gemini Observatories, the premier
    optical/infrared facility available to the entire U.S. astronomical
    community. Both the northern and southern Gemini telescopes are now
    in regular science operations. Activities for Gemini in FY 2003 will
    include continued instrument commissioning and development of
    advanced instrumentation. The expansion of the public information
    and outreach effort that began in FY 2002 will continue.

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-   Funding is maintained at \$19.49 million for the Cornell Electron
    Storage Ring (CESR) for support of operations of the facility and
    its research programs in elementary particle physics and in advanced
    accelerator physics. CESR serves a broad user community and
    continues to be a world-leading center for precision tests of the
    standard model of the electro-weak force. The current program using
    the CLEO detector and focusing on B-meson physics will shift to
    precision studies in the charmed meson sector. In accelerator
    physics, CESR is carrying out world-leading studies of
    superconducting radio frequency technology and beam dynamics for
    particle accelerators at the energy and intensity frontiers.

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-   A total of \$14.70 million for Michigan State University's National
    Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), an increase of
    \$240,000. FY 2003 funding provides for near full operations and
    research at this unique radioactive ion beam facility, which
    provides important research opportunities for hundreds of users of
    the NSCL, with particular emphasis on astrophysics, a continued high
    priority within nuclear science and within physics overall.

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-   Funding for the NHMFL decreases by \$970,000 in FY 2003 to a total
    of \$24.00 million. This follows a one-time increment of \$1.47
    million provided in FY 2002 to cover increased energy costs over the
    period from 2002 to 2005. In FY 2003, \$500,000 will be provided for
    enhanced instrumentation. The NHMFL provides world leadership in
    high magnetic field capability with a unique set of continuous and
    pulsed-field magnets, supporting the research needs of hundreds of
    researchers across a broad spectrum of science and technology. The
    NHMFL is operated by Florida State University, the University of
    Florida, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and is funded in
    partnership by NSF, DOE, and the State of Florida.

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-   Funding for the operation of the three national astronomy centers is
    \$84.33 million and provides continued support for enhanced levels
    of maintenance and facilities upgrades. These centers provide
    observing capability in the radio and optical/infrared regions of
    the spectrum for all scientists on the basis of scientific merit.
    The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) (\$31.70 million,
    a decrease of \$1.0 million) maintains observing capabilities at
    optical/infrared wavelengths in both the northern and southern
    hemispheres. The Telescope Systems Instrumentation Program (TSIP),
    which will be administered through NOAO, will provide \$4.0 million,
    unchanged from FY 2002, in instrument development and facilities
    improvement to private observatories and partnerships in exchange
    for public access. The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the Very
    Large Array (VLA) of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
    (\$39.63 million, a decrease of \$800,000) provide very
    high-resolution radio images of celestial objects. NRAO's Robert C.
    Byrd Green Bank Telescope, a 100-meter diameter radio telescope of
    unparalleled sensitivity, will be in full science operation in FY
    2003, as will be the upgraded National Astronomy and Ionosphere
    Center's 1000-meter radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

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-   A decrease of \$3.60 million, corresponding to closure of the
    Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF).

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-   \$23.0 million will support Research Resources, including shared
    instrumentation for university departments, for new instrumentation
    development, and for facility-related instrument development and
    operation. This represents decrease of \$1.70 million compared with
    FY 2002.

Funds are being spent for early planning, design and development of
potential future facilities projects, listed below.

-   Rare Symmetry Violating Processes (RSVP). This project consists of
    two separate beam lines and detectors to be constructed at the
    Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) facility at Brookhaven
    National Laboratory in order to address profound questions at the
    frontier of elementary particle physics. The construction phase of
    this project is currently estimated to cost approximately \$120
    million. This project has been approved by the NSB for consideration
    for funding in a future NSF budget request. To date, approximately
    \$2.80 million has been provided for R&D studies through the R&RA
    Account, and an additional \$2.90 million is planned for FY 2003.

-   NSF Participation in the DOE Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The
    SNS will produce the most intense beams of neutrons in the world,
    and provide unprecedented performance for neutron scattering
    research. The DOE and NSF will work in coordination to develop and
    support a world-class suite of instruments that makes optimal use of
    the SNS beams, and that will meet the needs of users across a broad
    range of disciplines including chemistry, physics, materials,
    engineering, geology and biology. The instrumentation phase of this
    project is currently estimated to cost approximately \$300 million,
    of which NSF would contribute about \$150 million. This project may
    be proposed for MREFC and/or R&RA funding at a later date. To date,
    approximately \$1.50 million has been provided through the R&RA
    Account for initial R&D. Up to an additional \$3.0 million may be
    provided through R&RA Account for beamline instrumentation in FY
    2003.

-   The Advanced LIGO is currently envisioned as an enhancement of LIGO
    capabilities to 10 times the current planned sensitivity. This will
    allow observation of a volume of the universe 1,000 times larger
    than the initial LIGO; this enhancement was foreseen at the time the
    initial construction commenced. The construction phase of the
    Advanced LIGO is estimated to cost approximately \$110 million, and
    may be proposed for MREFC and/or R&RA funding at a later date. To
    date, approximately \$10.63 million have been provided in R&RA
    Account for this effort, and an additional \$2.39 million is planned
    for FY 2003.

-   The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) is currently
    envisioned as a 4-meter diameter optical telescope that will observe
    details in optical and infrared solar light about 10 times the
    resolution that is currently achievable. The construction phase of
    this project is estimated to cost approximately \$60 million, and
    may be proposed for MREFC and/or R&RA funding at a later date. To
    date, approximately \$2.90 million for R&D activities has been
    provided through the R&RA Account for this effort, and an additional
    \$2.70 million is planned for FY 2003.

-   The Next Linear Collider (NLC) is currently envisioned as an
    electron-positron linear accelerator that produces collisions
    between its counter-rotating beams that is seen as a strong
    candidate to be the logical successor to the Large Hadron Collider
    as the discovery tool at the energy frontier of particle physics.
    The facility will be constructed as an international effort. Since
    the R&D and design phases have not been completed the cost of the
    facility is not known at this time, but it could be in the \$5-10
    billion range. Any NSF contribution to this international effort
    would be sought from the MREFC Account. To date, approximately
    \$1.50 million has been provided from the R&RA Account for R&D
    efforts, and an additional \$3.0 million is planned for FY 2003.

Although any facility project undertaken will be categorized as a Tool,
early planning and development investments may fall within Ideas and
will be funded within the Research and Related Activities Account.
Whether a project ever becomes a candidate for the Major Research
Equipment and Facilities Construction Account is determined by a
systematic planning and review process to determine its scientific
merit, feasibility, and readiness.

## Administration and Management

Administration and Management provides for administrative activities
necessary to enable NSF to achieve its strategic goals. Requested
funding for FY 2003 is \$5.44 million, an increase of \$600,000 over FY
2002. This includes the cost of Intergovernmental Personnel Act
appointments and contractors performing administrative functions, as
well as administration and management of transferred programs.

**Number of People Supported in MPS Activities**

![](media/image6.wmf)

**MPS Funding Profile**

![](media/image7.wmf)

**Astronomical ScIENCES \$161,250,000**

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Astronomical Sciences (AST)
Subactivity is \$161.25 million, a decrease of \$4.61 million, or 2.8
percent, from the FY 2002 Current Plan of \$165.86 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image8.wmf)

NSF is the lead federal agency for ground-based astronomy, providing
about two-thirds of the federal support for this area of science,
including almost all federal support for radio astronomy.

Astronomy Research and Instrumentation includes support for astronomical
and astrophysical studies of the origins and characteristics of planets,
the Sun, other stars, our galaxy, extragalactic objects such as clusters
of galaxies and quasars, and the structure and origin of the Universe.
The development of advanced technologies and instrumentation, and
university radio observatories are also supported. Support includes
funding for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
as well as for instrumentation and other research needs. Also supported
within this program element is NSF's Electromagnetic Spectrum Management
(ESM) program, which participates with other federal agencies in
coordinating the use of the electromagnetic spectrum for research and
other activities.

The FY 2003 budget request includes \$64.32 million for research and
instrumentation support in the Astronomical Sciences that will advance
the scientific priorities of studies in cosmology and the origin and
evolution of the universe and the formation of stars and planets. Other
priorities include significant activities in the area of particle
astrophysics, the development of adaptive optics systems for telescopes
and technologies and techniques in signal detection, image analysis, and
data handling that may have applications in areas of national defense. A
number of these activities involve interagency partnerships. The number,
size, and duration of grants will be increased as much as current
funding permits to allow researchers to capitalize on the investments
made by the Federal, state, and private sectors in major new
observational facilities. Support will also be provided for research and
development that may lead to facility upgrades or new installations in
the future. Through the ITR priority area, support will be provided for
research and applications in databases, data mining, and high-speed
computation. The Science and Technology Center (STC) for Adaptive Optics
will be funded within AST in FY 2003.

-   An example of scientific discovery supported in the Astronomical
    Sciences is the continued discovery of planetary systems outside our
    own. NSF supports several teams searching for extra-solar planets,
    and a recent discovery, again by the team of Marcy, Butler, Fischer
    and Vogt (UC Berkeley, Carnegie Institute of Washington, and UC
    Santa Cruz), found a planet three-quarters the mass of Jupiter in a
    circular orbit around the solar-like star 47 Ursa Majoris. Although
    over 70 extra-solar planets have been found thus far, this is the
    first system with two planets in circular orbits, and at distances
    that make the planetary system similar to our own. Discoveries like
    this serve as a major impetus to the active area of observational
    and theoretical research into the formation of stars and their
    planetary disks.

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-   Researchers supported by NSF in the Astronomical Sciences and the
    Office of Polar Programs extended their work to measure the very
    faint fluctuations in the microwave light emitted by the hot gas in
    the early universe, from a time before stars and galaxies formed.
    Their data led to the conclusion that the Universe is nearly
    spatially flat, and have been used to estimate cosmological
    parameters, such as the expansion rate, the age, and the total mass
    of the Universe. Cosmological models fit to their data imply both
    the existence of up to 90 percent "dark" matter and a "dark energy"
    or a cosmological constant in the Universe.

Astronomical Sciences includes support for three national facilities:
the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), the National
Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO), and the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory (NRAO). Also included is the U.S. share of operations for
the International Gemini Observatories, twin 8-meter telescopes located
in the northern and southern hemispheres. These facilities together
provide world-class observing capabilities throughout the
electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to infrared and optical regimes of
the electromagnetic spectrum.

FY 2003 support for national facilities totals \$96.93 million, and
includes:

-   Support for Gemini Observatories at \$12.60 million, an increase of
    \$340,000. Both the northern and southern Gemini telescopes are now
    in regular science operations. The Gemini Observatory, an
    international partnership with six other countries, and the premier
    optical/infrared facility available to the entire U.S. astronomical
    community, remains the highest priority among our optical and
    infrared facilities. Activities for Gemini in FY 2003 will continue
    development of advanced instrumentation and expansion of the public
    information and outreach effort to better serve all of the partner
    countries.

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-   NAIC will be supported at \$9.0 million, a decrease of \$400,000.
    This level of support will enable continued operation and
    maintenance of the renovated Arecibo telescope and the development
    of instrumentation to take advantage of its greater sensitivity.

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-   Support for NOAO at \$31.70 million, a decrease of \$1.0 million.
    NOAO provides observational facilities to the U.S. astronomical
    community in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Support is
    provided for operations and maintenance of a suite of
    optical/infrared and solar telescopes. Activities in FY 2003 include
    \$2.70 million, an increase of \$900,000, for continued design and
    planning for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), an
    instrument that will use new techniques such as adaptive optics to
    provide a unique capability for investigating a wide range of
    important questions in solar physics. ATST will be of significant
    value to studies in atmospheric sciences and space weather in
    addition to astronomical research.

-   Included also within facilities is \$4.0 million for the Telescope
    System Instrumentation Program (TSIP), which is administered for the
    community through NOAO. TSIP, which began in FY 2002, is a program
    to unify the privately held and the national optical and infrared
    (IR) observatory facilities through a program of support for
    instrument development and facility improvement in exchange for
    public access to private facilities.

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-   NRAO is supported at \$39.63 million, a decrease of \$800,000. This
    level of support will provide for operations, maintenance, and
    instrumentation for the unique telescopes of NRAO, such as the
    Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the Very Large Array, and the
    Very Long Baseline Array. Activities in FY 2003 include making
    continued improvements and enhancements to the expanded VLA and
    arrival of full science operations of the Byrd Telescope.

# CHEMISTRY \$160,800,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Chemistry (CHE) Subactivity is
\$160.80 million, a decrease of \$2.09 million, or 1.3 percent, from the
FY 2002 Current Plan of \$162.89 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image9.wmf)

Research in chemistry attempts to understand the structure of molecules
and the relationship of this structure to chemical reactivity and
physical properties. Chemists use this understanding to develop more
efficient methods for making known molecules and to create new molecular
systems with interesting physical and chemical properties. Progress in
the field of chemistry is critical to advances in other sciences such as
materials research, molecular biology, biomedicine, plant and
agricultural biology, environmental sciences, and the development of new
energy sources. It also forms the intellectual basis and the trained
workforce upon which the chemical and allied products industries,
including the pharmaceutical industry, depend.

The award of a portion of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to K. Barry
Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute is an example of how
NSF-supported fundamental research into the mechanisms of chemical
reactions can lead to the development of synthetic techniques with a
significant impact on, in this case, the pharmaceutical industry. Since
the 1970s, the Chemistry Subactivity has supported Sharpless to develop
synthetic techniques for the production of chiral or "handed" molecules.
Many molecules can occur in either of two forms that are mirror images
of each other, as our left and right hands are. Often only one of these
forms is biochemically active. Sharpless received the Nobel Prize for
his development of catalytic synthetic techniques in which only one of
these forms is produced with high yield. The results of this Chemistry
Subactivity supported research are today being used by pharmaceutical
companies for the synthesis of a variety of useful products such as
antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and heart medication.

As the above example illustrates, academic research in chemistry
produces fundamental knowledge used by industrial, governmental, and
academic chemists and technologists, and contributes to developing the
skills and intellectual potential of students, who are the workforce of
the future. The federal government provides about 70 percent of the
funds for academic research in chemistry; and the Chemistry Subactivity
provides about 20 percent of the federal government\'s support for
academic chemistry research. Chemistry Subactivity investment provides
critical core support for fundamental research, maintains the health of
the discipline, and provides funding for the development of new research
ideas as well as a highly skilled work force for the \$20 billion,
83,000-person research and development effort of the chemical and allied
products industries.

The Chemistry Subactivity supports research on the synthesis of new
organic and inorganic molecules; the structure and reactivity of
molecules in solids, liquids, and gases, and on surfaces; preparation
and characterization of supra-molecular nano-structures; new measurement
concepts and instruments for molecular characterization; and theoretical
and experimental understanding of chemical structure and reactivity at
the quantum level. Chemistry can now achieve molecular-level
understanding of complex systems, such as those presented by natural and
manufacturing environments. It can use this understanding to design new
and more effective drugs. It can define environmentally benign synthetic
processes and contribute to the development of new energy sources and
efficient uses of old ones. Chemists have developed highly sensitive
techniques for detecting chemical species in the environment, both
naturally produced and produced as a result of the intentional or
unintentional acts of man. These sensing techniques are being applied to
a variety of national security problems from real time sensing of
harmful species in the ambient environment to analysis of samples for
forensic and remediation purposes. Advances in chemistry also help in
understanding chemical cycles in the Earth\'s environment as well as
providing insights into the molecular origins of life. Undergraduate,
graduate, and postdoctoral students, together with essential
instrumentation, are supported to pursue this research through awards to
individual investigators, groups of investigators, and centers.

Highlights of research supported by the Chemistry Subactivity include:

-   The development of techniques for the synthesis of complex
    macromolecular structures that can be assembled into molecular-level
    electronic device components such as diodes and transistors. This
    synthetic capability has brought the era of molecular electronics
    closer and was cited by *Science* as the \"Breakthrough of the
    Year\" for the year 2001.

-   Advances in understanding the quantum process that occur when a
    molecule has been excited by laser irradiation have brought the era
    of control of reaction product distributions closer to fruition. The
    ultimate goal, a \"holy grail\" of chemists for many years, is to be
    able, by careful control of the phase and amplitude of irradiation,
    to influence the reaction dynamics so that only a single desired
    photoproduct is produced. One NSF-supported researcher in this
    field, Brooks Pate of the University of Virginia, was the recipient
    of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2001.

-   Understanding of the chemical mechanisms for the uptake of iron by
    marine life. This research, supported by the Environmental Molecular
    Science Institutes program in the Chemistry Subactivity, has
    resulted in a more detailed understanding of the processes by which
    marine microorganisms metabolize iron and make this critical element
    available to species higher up the food chain.

The FY 2003 Request includes \$160.80 million, a decrease of \$2.09
million, in Chemistry Research. Funding includes support for the NSF
priority areas of Information Technology Research, Nanoscale Science and
Engineering, and Biocomplexity in the Environment. These funds support
individual investigators and collaborative groups to work on
computational approaches to fundamental problems in chemistry; synthesis
and characterization of nanostructures; and development of an
understanding of the environment at the molecular level. It also
includes support for the development of user facilities such as a
synchrotron beamline and a high-field mass spectroscopy facility. The
division will continue its practice of increasing average grant size.
This amount, in addition, supports education activities designed to
increase the number of undergraduate students who have the opportunity
to participate in research.

The Chemistry Subactivity will continue to support new demonstration
projects of special interest to the field of chemistry, especially with
respect to preparing graduate students better for competition in the
diverse, global workforce. Of particular emphasis will be support of
innovative programs that have the potential to increase the
participation of underrepresented groups in the chemistry profession.
The Subactivity will also begin to develop programs to increase the
scope of international collaborations in chemistry research.

## MATERIALS RESEARCH \$219,320,000

The FY 2002 Budget Request for the Materials Research (DMR) Subactivity
is \$219.32 million, a decrease of \$190,000, or 0.1 percent, from the
FY 2002 Current Plan of \$219.51 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image10.wmf)

DMR supports research and education to advance the fundamental
understanding of materials, to enable the development of materials with
superior properties, and to enhance the understanding of the
interconnections among synthesis, processing, composition, structure and
properties of materials and how these factors affect their performance.
Materials research integrates a wide range of activities spanning both
science and engineering. It extends from investigations of fundamental
phenomena in condensed matter physics and solid-state chemistry to
research on functional materials including metals, ceramics, polymers,
biomaterials, and electronic, photonic and magnetic materials. Its
practitioners include physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and
engineers, and, increasingly, it benefits from the participation of
researchers from an even wider range of disciplines such as
biochemistry, biology, earth sciences, mathematics, computer science,
and medicine.

The technological and societal significance of the field is
far-reaching. DMR supports education, fundamental research and
facilities that are critically important to the future advancement of
industries and technologies ranging from electronics and communications
to information technology, transportation and aerospace, energy,
environmental protection, manufacturing, medicine and health care,
packaging, and civil infrastructure. NSF provides about half the total
federal support for university-based research in materials. More than
half of DMR\'s portfolio consists of support for individual
investigators and focused research groups. The balance supports 29
Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs), and
experimental facilities for shared use, including the National High
Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) and user facilities for x-ray
synchrotron radiation and neutron scattering. In FY 2002 an additional
\$1.47 million is being provided to the NHMFL by Congressional directive
to pay for increased energy costs for the remainder of the current award
period through FY 2005.

Researchers and educators supported by DMR made exciting progress this
year:

-   James Economy's research group at the University of Illinois has
    developed a family of activated carbon fibers with exceptional
    adsorption, selectivity, and versatility. As a result the group has
    collaborated with scientists from 3M Co., Schuller International,
    and Culligan Industrial Systems to design and optimize an
    advanced-separations platform to adsorb and filter environmental
    contaminants. The novel polymeric materials developed by this group
    are already being explored for their applications in water
    purification, air-quality systems, and homeland security including
    the mitigation of toxic chemicals.

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-   Conventional wisdom would suggest that it is impossible to propagate
    light through a structure smaller than its own wavelength.
    Researchers at the Cal Tech MRSEC have demonstrated that light can
    propagate along waveguides with lateral dimensions of a few
    nanometers -- only a few percent of the wavelength of visible light.
    The key is to exploit the tendency for electromagnetic excitations
    to 'hop' between electric dipoles such as fluorescent dye molecules
    or metal nanoparticles. The light can even travel around sharp
    corners and through nanoscale networks -- all of which is impossible
    with conventional waveguides.

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-   Research at the frontier of classical and quantum mechanics
    continues to produce fascinating results. James Lukens at the State
    University of New York, Stony Brook, has created a superconducting
    device in which two electronic circuits with currents circulating in
    opposite directions are maintained coherently in the same quantum
    state. This is the largest system in which these strange effects
    predicted by quantum mechanics have ever been seen. The experiments
    have ramifications for fundamental measurement theory of quantum
    mechanics and for the creation of 'qubit' elements for quantum
    computing.

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-   With DMR support, Viola Acoff at the University of Alabama organizes
    an annual summer workshop for faculty in the mathematical and
    physical sciences from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
    Participants receive a thorough introduction to the materials
    science and engineering discipline through lectures, hands-on
    laboratory work, and visits to industrial facilities. They become
    familiar with the instruments and processes needed to develop
    instructional examples and experiments, and can then convey to their
    students the significance of materials in the realm of the physical
    sciences while introducing them to new career opportunities.

The FY 2003 Budget Request includes several enhancements and new
activities:

-   Support for materials research areas related to homeland security,
    such as sensor materials and nanoscale instrumentation, will be
    enhanced through competitive review in core programs.

-   DMR will increase support for NSF priority areas in Nanoscale
    Science and Engineering (by \$5.61 million to \$70.93 million) and
    Information Technology Research (by \$690,000 to \$9.93 million).
    Support for international collaboration in materials research and
    education through centers and disciplinary research programs will be
    enhanced by up to \$2.0 million. Up to \$2.0 million will be used to
    establish at least two Collaboratives for Materials Research and
    Education, enabling minority-serving institutions to strengthen
    their research and education activities in materials by developing
    links with existing materials groups, centers and facilities. Grant
    size and duration will be maintained at current levels or higher.

-   The planned level of DMR support for the NHMFL is \$24.0 million in
    FY 2003, a decrease of \$970,000, subject to the satisfactory
    outcome of a progress review in FY 2002. As planned in the five-year
    award beginning in FY 2001, DMR will shift resources within the
    NHMFL to provide an additional \$500,000 in FY 2003 to strengthen
    user support and enhance instrumentation at the National High
    Magnetic Field Laboratory.

In order to support these new and enhanced activities in FY 2003, DMR
funding for lower priority areas will be reduced.

#  MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES \$181,870,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Mathematical Sciences (DMS)
Subactivity is \$181.87 million, an increase of \$30.39 million, or 20.1
percent, over the FY 2002 Current Plan of \$151.48 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image11.wmf)

Advances in science and engineering, driven in part by increasingly
sophisticated and readily available computing environments, have lifted
the mathematical sciences to the forefront of science and engineering,
reshaping modern discovery through quantitative predictions,
instrumentation development, modeling, visualization, computational
algorithms, and optimization methods. Science and engineering are
becoming more mathematical and statistical, not only in the physical,
engineering and informational sciences, but also the biological,
geophysical, environmental, social, behavioral, and economic sciences.

NSF has a crucial role in the support of academic research in the
mathematical sciences, providing nearly 70 percent of all federal
academic support. NSF-supported research involves a broader range of
infrastructure, fundamental research, and multidisciplinary research
topics than that sponsored by other federal agencies that support
academic mathematical sciences research. Especially important is the
critical function of the mathematical sciences in the education and
training of the nation's scientific and engineering workforce.

Mathematical Sciences includes areas such as analysis, geometry,
topology, foundations, algebra, number theory, combinatorics, applied
mathematics, statistics, probability, biomathematics, and computational
mathematics. Awards in these areas support a variety of research
projects, multidisciplinary projects, and Focused Research Groups, with
some grants including funding for graduate and postdoctoral students as
well as for workshops, computing equipment and other research and
education needs. In addition, this Subactivity supports infrastructure
efforts across the mathematical sciences, including national research
institutes, postdoctoral research fellowships, graduate education,
broadened career experiences for researchers, research conferences and
workshops, shared scientific computing research equipment, and
undergraduate investments such as Research Experiences for
Undergraduates (sites and supplements).

The pervasive nature of the mathematical sciences in underpinning and
enabling much of today's scientific, engineering, commercial, and
defense-related activities is illustrated by the following examples:

-   Describing the theory of how insects manipulate the flow of air
    around them, a researcher at Cornell University determined how the
    rotating motion of insect wings during flapping creates non-linear
    vortices that permit the insect to hover. These vortex dynamics
    explained the role of the phase relation between the wing
    translation and the rotation in generating lift.

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-   Researchers on a Focused Research Group Award to several
    institutions have developed a highly competitive, nonlinear-based
    approach to optical fiber transmission of light. The mathematical
    theory produces precise pulse shapes with maximal fiber lifetimes.
    Effective computational techniques have been added that address the
    randomness in optical fiber links that has historically limited
    performance of high-speed optical fiber communications.

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-   In an award jointly supported by the Biological Sciences Activity
    and the Mathematical Sciences Subactivity, researchers at
    Rockefeller University and the Universidad de Buenos Aires
    identified improved control tactics for a vexing public health
    problem in Latin America. Mathematical models, calibrated to
    detailed household data in northwest Argentina showed that simple
    and inexpensive methods could prevent Chagas disease -- a disease
    that is often fatal and spread by a blood-feeding bug.

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-   Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a
    discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element method for the
    two-dimensional, depth-integrated shallow-water equations. The
    resulting computational methods have been used in the development of
    a complex shallow-water simulator, called UTBEST (University of
    Texas Bay and Estuary Simulator). The simulator can model and
    predict spread of a contamination event in the Houston Ship Channel
    with the domain being all of Galveston Bay.

The FY 2003 Budget Request of \$181.87 million will enhance
interdisciplinary research groups and other collaborative mechanisms
that integrate the strength of the mathematical sciences with chemistry,
materials research, physics, astronomy and other sciences and
engineering.

Of special importance in FY 2003 is the Mathematical Sciences priority
area investment of \$47.39 million, an increase of \$17.39 million over
the FY 2002 investment in interdisciplinary mathematics. This investment
reflects the importance of mathematical and statistical sciences in the
kinds of crosscutting science and engineering research areas described
above.

The FY 2003 increases will support:

-   Research in dynamical systems, structure and geometry of the
    physical world, and other mathematical and statistical fundamental
    research necessary to support advances in interdisciplinary
    research.

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-   Focused mathematical sciences research teams, interdisciplinary
    training groups, and other collaborative mechanisms related to
    advancing science and engineering. For example, the Division of
    Mathematical Sciences and the Geosciences Directorate plan a
    GEO-Math partnership to advance the understanding of problems
    arising from differences in scales, both time scales and distance
    scales, in geophysical problems. It is anticipated that the FY 2002
    interagency partnerships with DARPA and NIH will be continued.

-   New and continuing national institutes in the mathematical sciences
    that will address the growing interface between the mathematical
    sciences and other disciplines and the mathematical and statistical
    problems whose solutions will contribute to both fundamental
    knowledge and national needs.

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-   An increase of \$10.0 million, to approximately \$26.0 million, for
    the Grants for Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the
    Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE). This program supports undergraduate,
    graduate and postdoctoral education and training activities and
    curriculum development designed to improve and reform the research
    and training opportunities in the mathematical sciences.

# PHYSICS \$193,310,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Physics Subactivity is \$191.31
million, a decrease of \$2.57 million, or -1.3 percent, from the FY 2002
Current Plan of \$195.88 million.

![](media/image12.wmf) (Millions of Dollars)

The Physics Subactivity (PHY) supports fundamental research in a broad
range of physical phenomena, including support in: atomic, molecular,
optical, and plasma physics; elementary particle physics; gravitational
physics; nuclear physics; particle and nuclear astrophysics; and
theoretical physics. Physics also supports interdisciplinary research,
including: biophysics, complex systems, turbulence, and other developing
interface areas associated with the core disciplines, for example the
interface with information technology. The impact of physics research
extends far beyond physics as a result of the discovery of new phenomena
and the development of new techniques and basic tools that advance other
fields, e.g., laser technology, biomedical technology, information
technology, nanotechnology, energy science, including nuclear science,
and many other techniques used in high technology industries.

Typical awards include funding for faculty salary support, graduate
students, post-doctoral associates, instrumentation development, and
other research needs. PHY supports an increasingly vigorous effort in
the integration of research and education, including support of the
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research at
Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) programs, the Faculty Early Career
Development Program (CAREER), and important and innovative new outreach
efforts aimed at improving links to K-12 teachers and students. The REU
program continues to be very successful at reaching underrepresented
minorities and women.

The Physics Subactivity provides support for a large part of
university-based research in the physics sub-disciplines, ranging from
nearly 100 percent for gravitational physics to 30-40 percent for the
other physics programs. The scope of support ranges from small,
single-investigator awards for research based at the awardee's home
institution, to awards to major user groups with principal
responsibility for experiments at major national or international user
facilities. PHY also supports centers and institutes and national user
facilities in elementary particle, nuclear, and gravitational physics.
The user facilities represent important elements of the national
infrastructure for certain subfields: in elementary particle physics,
the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR); in nuclear physics, the
Michigan State University National Superconducting Cyclotron Facility
(NSCL); and in gravitational physics, the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Center activities include:
support for Physics Frontiers Centers, the first class of which include
centers in the following areas: cosmological physics, gravitational
physics, coherent ultrafast optical science, and the structure and
origin of matter (particle and nuclear physics), the latter at an HBCU;
and a new Science and Technology Center in biophotonics, applying new
techniques developed in atomic, molecular and optical physics to studies
of biological systems.

The Physics Subactivity supports major infrastructure within atomic,
molecular, optical, and plasma (AMOP) physics such as the new Physics
Frontiers Center 'Frontiers of Optical, Coherent and Ultrafast Science'
(FOCUS) at the University of Michigan, the Center for Ultracold Atoms at
MIT, and the University of Colorado laboratory for atomic, molecular,
and optical physics (JILA).

Physics tools have had an enormous impact on national security, from
nuclear technologies and laser-based guidance and control systems, to
radiation-hardened electronics and precision clocks for GPS (even
including general relativity corrections). In the future, research in
quantum information science will contribute centrally to the science of
encryption and to the sorting and correlating of massive information
bases -- keys to future intelligence activities.

The Physics Subactivity oversees a construction project funded through
the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) Account
-- the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ATLAS and CMS detectors. Construction
funding for the LHC detectors, begun in FY 1999, continues in FY 2003
(see the MREFC Account for additional information). LIGO, which was also
funded through the MREFC Account, is expected to be fully operational in
FY 2003, with all interferometers operating in coincidence (the 2- and
4-km interferometers at Hanford and the 4-km interferometer at the
Livingston site).

The \"quantum realm\" continues as a broad area within the Physics
Subactivity where there has been important progress. AMOP grantees won
the 2001 Nobel Prize for Physics for achieving Bose-Einstein
condensation in dilute gases, and for studies of the properties of
condensates, studies that may bring revolutionary applications to
nanotechnology.

The FY 2003 Budget request for PHY includes:

-   A decrease of \$2.76 million in research projects to a total of
    \$129.62 million. Support for physics disciplinary research in lower
    priority research areas will be reduced by \$3.76 million. Part of
    this offset will provide enhanced support for Physics Frontiers
    Centers (+\$1.0 million), a program begun in FY 2001 to provide
    critical resources and needed infrastructure to exceptionally
    promising new areas of physics, including interdisciplinary research
    such as astrophysics and biological physics. The Physics Subactivity
    will continue to support forefront areas of physics, with some
    emphasis on particle and nuclear astrophysics, atom-level
    manipulation, quantum information science, biological physics and on
    advanced R&D towards next generation particle accelerators and
    gravitational wave detectors. Education and outreach activities will
    receive continued emphasis: enhancing K-12 science teacher training,
    integrating research and education, and broadening the role physics
    plays in new and emerging areas of research, including the training
    of young physicists.

-   An increase of \$190,000 for facilities to a total of \$63.69
    million. This increase corresponds to: (1) termination of support
    for IUCF (-\$3.60 million); (2) support for near-full operations of
    the Michigan State National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory's
    radioactive ion beam facility (+\$0.24 million) for a total of
    \$14.70 million; (3) increased support for LIGO (+\$3.55 million) to
    a total of \$29.50 million: \$28.50 million for full operations as
    the lab focuses on the coincidence observations between the lab's
    two detector sites and an additional \$1.0 million for equipment for
    advanced detector R&D. The funding for CESR operations will remain
    at \$19.49 million, a figure that includes support for research and
    full operation of the accelerator for exploitation by the elementary
    particle physics and synchrotron light research communities, and for
    sustaining the important accelerator physics research activity at
    Cornell.

-   The budget for NSF includes a request of \$60 million for
    high-energy physics. This request includes an expenditure over \$2
    million for research on neutrino collectors, including applications
    for underground research. Such research, including underground
    applications, will also be the subject of a major NSF workshop on
    neutrino research projects and a National Academy of Sciences'
    Report.

# MULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES \$25,020,000

The FY 2003 Budget Request for the Multidisciplinary Activities
Subactivity is \$25.02 million, an increase of \$190,000, or 0.8
percent, over the FY 2002 Current Plan of \$24.83 million.

(Millions of Dollars)

![](media/image13.wmf)

The Multidisciplinary Activities Subactivity (OMA) enables support by
MPS of particularly novel, challenging, or complex projects in research
and education whose realization might otherwise be hampered by existing
institutional or procedural barriers. To accomplish this, OMA works
cooperatively with other MPS Subactivities in encouraging
multidisciplinary proposals from all segments of the MPS community and
especially encourages initiatives by multi-investigator,
multidisciplinary teams pursuing problems on a scale that exceeds the
capacity of individual investigators or which are not readily
accommodated by existing MPS program structures. Examples of such
multidisciplinary projects enabled by OMA include the Cryogenic Helium
Turbulence Research Center (Oregon, Yale, and Brookhaven National
Laboratory), the Fullerene Nanotube Chemistry Focused Research Group
(Rice and UCLA), and the Center for Ultracold Atoms (MIT and Harvard).

OMA facilitates partnerships between MPS and other NSF activities, other
agencies, industry, national laboratories, state and local governments,
and international organizations. Such partnerships are critically
important to the pursuit of the strategic goals of the Foundation and of
the MPS community and contribute significantly to the preparation of a
diverse workforce for the new century that is broadly trained, flexible,
and globally competitive. Facilitation by OMA of both disciplinary
partnerships as well as organizational partnerships is vital to the
accelerated discovery of new ideas, the development of new tools, and
the broadened training necessary to enable the nation's workforce to
meet new and rapidly evolving demands.

OMA supports innovative experiments in physical science and mathematics
education that could lead to new paradigms in disciplinary and
multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate education. It is a focal
point within MPS for activities that facilitate the development of a
diverse and globally competitive workforce. OMA also uses MPS research
infrastructure as a resource to enhance the K-12 teaching cohort,
broaden the discovery-based learning experiences of K-16 students and
draw upon MPS-supported research as an effective platform for public
science education. Examples of OMA investment in these educational
arenas include:

-   Support for Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), which provides
    in-service and pre-service K-12 teachers with discovery-based
    learning experiences in the MPS disciplines. Through supplements
    from OMA available to the more than 200 REU Sites in MPS, K-12
    teachers are supported for up to ten weeks of research activities.
    Since the inception of RET in FY 1999, more than 700 K-12 teachers
    have been supported through annual investment in the range of \$2.0
    million.

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-   Support for Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE), which is
    designed to bring recent science results from MPS-supported research
    to the public by promoting partnerships between the MPS research
    community and specialists in public science education. The IPSE
    program provides support for undergraduate and graduate students and
    K-12 teachers to work in conjunction with MPS research scientists,
    and with professionals at science centers and museums, on projects
    in public science education.

In FY 2003, OMA will continue to work with other MPS Subactivities and
programs across the Foundation to broaden the disciplinary base of
research and education in the mathematical and physical sciences. Of
particular importance are the interfaces between MPS and the Biological
Sciences Activity, between MPS and the Geosciences Activity, and between
MPS and the Education and Human Resources Activity.

The FY 2003 Budget Request includes:

-   \$3.50 million for support of research and training activities at
    the scientifically rich interfaces between MPS and the BIO Activity
    and between MPS and the GEO Activity.

-   \$3.0 million for the support of multidisciplinary institutes to
    stimulate new and emerging areas of research and education in the
    MPS disciplines.

-   \$3.0 million for support of cooperative international research and
    training activities to increase the global competitiveness of U.S.
    scientists, engineers, and students. Activities such as the MPS
    Distinguished International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program
    enable graduate students, postdoctorals, and faculty in the MPS
    disciplines to carry out research at the world's leading facilities
    and laboratories to develop and to enrich essential international
    dimensions of their research and education programs.

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-   \$3.0 million for investment in research by multidisciplinary groups
    of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers leading to the
    development of next-generation instrumentation that integrates
    computation and measurement to enable fundamental advances and broad
    training across a wide spectrum of disciplines.

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-   \$3.0 million for the support of university-industry interactions
    through the Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry
    (GOALI) program, which affords a vital mechanism for broadening
    graduate and postdoctoral training.

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-   \$2.50 million to enable the extensive MPS research investment to be
    drawn upon for formal and informal science education, particularly
    through the MPS Internships in Public Science Education program that
    supports partnerships between MPS researchers and the public science
    education communities, with focused emphasis on MPS-supported
    research centers and facilities.

-   \$1.0 million for the support, joint with the EHR/DUE Subactivity,
    of Centers for Learning and Teaching in the MPS disciplines. These
    Centers will enhance the knowledge content and pedagogical skills of
    current and future faculty and serve as national resources in areas
    such as assessment, curriculum development in the MPS disciplines,
    and research-based instructional methodologies.

-   \$1.0 million to facilitate the development, joint with other
    Directorates, of integrative multidisciplinary undergraduate
    education and research training activities, with particular emphasis
    on quality non-doctoral institutions.