SBE also supports the Foundation s international activities, providing U.S. scientists and engineers with access to centers of excellence in science and engineering research and education throughout the world. To improve understanding of the science and engineering enterprise, SBE provides informational tools for tracking the human and institutional resources that make up the nation s science and engineering infrastructure. Polar Programs , which include the U.S. Polar Research Programs and U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support Activities, support multi-disciplinary research in Arctic and Antarctic regions. The polar regions are geographic frontiers which provide premier natural laboratories, and provide unique research opportunities ranging from studies of the earth, ice and oceans to research in atmospheric sciences and astronomy. Increases are provided for Arctic logistics and for integrated interdisciplinary studies of the Arctic system, as well as for research on Antarctic ice sheets and oceans.
Increases also sustain the science facilities and operations that make Antarctic research possible.
The Critical Technologies Institute is a Federally-funded Research and Development Center established in 1992 by Congress to support the complex task of devising and implementing science and technology policy. EHR supports a cohesive and comprehensive set of activities that encompass every level of education and every region of the country. EHR also plays a major role in the Foundation s long-standing commitment to developing our nation s human resources for the science and engineering workforce of the future. In FY 1999, priority is given to efforts across all EHR programs that respond to the K-8 mathematics initiative, and the research on education and training technologies initiative, conducted in collaboration with the Department of Education. In addition, funding will aim to extend the effective application of computer, networking, and other technologies to PreK-12 education.