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(A) in subclause (III) (as redesignated by
paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘for students;’’ and
inserting ‘‘for students, especially underrep-
resented minority and female mathematics,
science, engineering, and technology students;’’;
(B) in subclause (V) (as redesignated by
paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the
semicolon;
(C) in subclause (VI) (as redesignated by
paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘students.’’ and in-
serting ‘‘students; and’’; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(VII) outreach programs that provide
middle and secondary school students and
their science, technology, and math teachers
opportunities to increase the students’ and
teachers’ exposure to engineering and tech-
nology;’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(ii) finance summer internships for mathe-
matics, science, engineering, and technology un-
dergraduate students;
‘‘(iii) facilitate the hiring of additional
mathematics, science, engineering, and tech-
nology faculty; and
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‘‘(iv) serve as bridges to enable underrep-
resented minority and female secondary school
students to obtain extra mathematics, science,
engineering, and technology training prior to en-
tering an institution of higher education.’’.
SEC. 4006. MEETING CRITICAL NATIONAL SCIENCE NEEDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other criteria,
the Director of the National Science Foundation shall in-
clude consideration of the degree to which awards and re-
search activities that otherwise qualify for support by the
National Science Foundation may assist in meeting critical
national needs in innovation, competitiveness, the physical
and natural sciences, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics.
(b) PRIORITY TREATMENT.—The Director shall give
priority in the selection of awards and the allocation of Na-
tional Science Foundation resources to proposed research
activities, and grants funded under the National Science
Foundation’s Research and Related Activities Account, that
can be expected to make contributions in physical or nat-
ural science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, or
that enhance competitiveness or innovation in the United
States.
(c) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to inhibit the grant selection process for funding
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other areas of research deemed by the National Science
Foundation to be consistent with its mandate nor to change
the core mission of the National Science Foundation.
SEC. 4007. REAFFIRMATION OF THE MERIT-REVIEW PROC-
ESS OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDA-
TION.
Nothing in this division or division A, or the amend-
ments made by this division or division A, shall be inter-
preted to require or recommend that the National Science
Foundation—
(1) alter or modify its merit-review system or
peer-review process; or
(2) exclude the awarding of any proposal by
means of the merit-review or peer-review process.
SEC. 4008. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COM-
PETITIVE RESEARCH.
Within the amounts authorized to be appropriated by
section 4001, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
National Science Foundation for the Experimental Pro-
gram to Stimulate Competitive Research authorized under
section 113 of the National Science Foundation Authoriza-
tion Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 1862g), for fiscal year 2008,
$125,000,000, and, for each of fiscal years 2009 through
2011, an amount equal to $125,000,000 increased for each
such year by an amount equal to the percentage increase
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in the appropriation for the National Science Foundation
for such fiscal year above the total amount appropriated
to the National Science Foundation for fiscal year 2008.
SEC. 4009. ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION.
(a) MENTORING PROGRAM.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall establish a program to re-
cruit and provide mentors for women who are interested
in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics by pairing such women who are in science, tech-
nology, engineering, or mathematics programs of study in
secondary school, community college, undergraduate or
graduate school with mentors who are working in industry.
(b) ADDITIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM.—The Director
shall also establish a program to provide grants to commu-
nity colleges to provide additional learning and other ap-
propriate training to allow women to enter higher-paying
technical jobs in fields related to science, technology, engi-
neering, or mathematics.
(c) APPLICATIONS.—An institution of higher edu-
cation, including a community college, desiring a grant
under this section shall submit an application at such time,
in such manner, and accompanied by such information as
the Director may require.
(d) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Director shall estab-
lish metrics to evaluate the success of the programs estab-
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lished under subsections (a) and (b) annually and report
the findings and conclusions of the evaluations annually to
Congress.
SEC. 4010. CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE.
In order to continue and expand efforts to ensure that
research institutions throughout the Nation can fully par-
ticipate in research programs of the National Science Foun-
dation and collaborate with colleagues throughout the na-
tion, the Director of the National Science Foundation, with-
in 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, shall
develop and publish a plan that describes the current status
of broadband access for scientific research purposes in
States located in EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions and out-
lines actions which can be taken to ensure that such connec-
tions are available to enable participation in those National
Science Foundation programs which rely heavily on high-
speed networking and collaborations across institutions and
regions.
SEC. 4011. FEDERAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.
(a) ADVANCED INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—
(1) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INFORMA-
TION
AND
COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY
RE-
SEARCH.—The Director of the National Science Foun-
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dation shall establish a program of basic research in
advanced information and communications tech-
nologies focused on enhancing or facilitating the
availability and affordability of advanced commu-
nications services to all people of the United States.
In developing and carrying out the program, the Di-
rector shall consult with the Board established under
paragraph (2).
(2) FEDERAL ADVANCED INFORMATION AND COM-
MUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH
BOARD.—
There is established within the National Science
Foundation a Federal Advanced Information and
Communications Technology Research Board (referred
to in this subsection as ‘‘the Board’’) which shall ad-
vise the Director of the National Science Foundation
in carrying out the program authorized under para-
graph (1). The Board shall be composed of individ-
uals with expertise in information and communica-
tions technologies, including representatives from the
National Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration, the Federal Communications Commis-
sion, the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology, and the Department of Defense, and rep-
resentatives from industry and educational institu-
tions.
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(3) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation, in consultation with the
Board, shall award grants for basic research into ad-
vanced information and communications technologies
that will contribute to enhancing or facilitating the
availability and affordability of advanced commu-
nications services to all people of the United States.
Areas of research to be supported through the grants
include—
(A) affordable broadband access, including
wireless technologies;
(B) network security and reliability;
(C) communications interoperability;
(D) networking protocols and architectures,
including resilience to outages or attacks;
(E) trusted software;
(F) privacy;
(G) nanoelectronics for communications ap-
plications;
(H) low-power communications electronics;
(I) implementation of equitable access to
national advanced fiber optic research and edu-
cational networks in noncontiguous States; and
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(J) such other related areas as the Director,
in consultation with the Board, finds appro-
priate.
(4) 
CENTERS.—The 
Director 
shall 
award
multiyear grants, subject to the availability of appro-
priations, to institutions of higher education (as de-
fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), nonprofit research insti-
tutions affiliated with institutions of higher edu-
cation, or consortia thereof to establish multidisci-
plinary Centers for Communications Research. The
purpose of the Centers shall be to generate innovative
approaches to problems in communications and infor-
mation technology research, including the research
areas described in paragraph (3). Institutions of
higher education, nonprofit research institutions af-
filiated with institutions of higher education, or con-
sortia receiving such grants may partner with 1 or
more government laboratories or for-profit entities, or
other institutions of higher education or nonprofit re-
search institutions.
(5) APPLICATIONS.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation, in consultation with the
Board, shall establish criteria for the award of grants
under paragraphs (3) and (4). Such grants shall be
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awarded under the programs on a merit-reviewed
competitive basis. The Director shall give priority to
grants that offer the potential for revolutionary rather
than evolutionary breakthroughs.
(6) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
Within the amounts authorized to be appropriated by
section 4001, there are authorized to be appropriated
to the National Science Foundation to carry out this
subsection—
(A) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
(C) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and
(D) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.
(b) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH-
NOLOGY RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology shall continue to
support research and support standards development in ad-
vanced information and communications technologies fo-
cused on enhancing or facilitating the availability and af-
fordability of advanced communications services to all peo-
ple of the United States, in order to implement the Insti-
tute’s responsibilities under section 2(c)(12) of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C.
272(c)(12)). The Director shall support intramural research
and cooperative research with institutions of higher edu-
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cation (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) and industry.
SEC. 4012. ROBERT NOYCE TEACHER PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10 of the National Science
Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1862n–
1) is amended—
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘SCHOL-
ARSHIP’’ and inserting ‘‘TEACHER’’;
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking ‘‘(or consortia of such
institutions)’’ and inserting ‘‘, consortia of
such institutions, or partnerships’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘to provide scholar-
ships, stipends, and programming de-
signed’’;
(iii) by inserting ‘‘and to provide
scholarships, stipends, or fellowships to in-
dividuals participating in the program’’
after ‘‘science teachers’’; and
(iv) by striking ‘‘Scholarship’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Teacher’’;
(B) in paragraph (3)—
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(i) in the matter preceding subpara-
graph (A), by striking ‘‘or consortia’’ and
inserting ‘‘consortia, or partnerships’’;
(ii) in subparagraph (A)—
(I) in the matter preceding clause
(i)—
(aa) by striking ‘‘encourage
top college juniors and seniors
majoring in’’ and inserting ‘‘re-
cruit and prepare undergraduate
students to pursue degrees in’’;
and
(bb) by striking ‘‘to become’’
and inserting ‘‘and become quali-
fied as’’;
(II) in clause (ii)—
(aa) by striking ‘‘programs
to help scholarship recipients’’
and inserting ‘‘academic courses
and clinical teaching experiences
designed to prepare students par-
ticipating in the program’’;
(bb) by striking ‘‘programs
that will result in’’ and inserting