2014 NSF Environmental R&D Report October 2014

FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 2014
1
FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BY THE
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 2014
Prepared by Peter Saundry, Ph.D. for the COUNCIL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEANS AND DIRECTORS,
AND THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AFFILIATE PROGRAM OCTOBER 2014
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

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3
Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................. 4
Summary ............................................................................................. 5
Biological Sciences ($465 million) ........................................................ 7
Environmental Biology ($139 million) ........................................................................... 7
Integrative Organismal Services ($216 million) ............................................................ 9
Biological Infrastructure ($90 million) ........................................................................ 11
Emerging Frontiers ($21 million) ................................................................................. 12
Engineering ($173 million) ................................................................. 14
Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transportation Systems ............................................ 14
Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation ............................................... 14
Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems ................................................. 15
Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation ................................................. 15
Engineering Education and Centers .................................................................... 15
Geosciences ($868 million) ................................................................ 16
Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences ($245 million) .................................................. 16
Earth Sciences ($174 million) ...................................................................................... 19
Ocean Sciences ($343 million) .................................................................................... 21
Innovative and Collaborative Research and Education ($84 million) ......................... 24
Polar Programs ($172 million) ........................................................... 25
Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES).......... 28

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T
Foreword
he National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is pleased to acknowledge and express its deep appreciation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program has provided the budget analysis behind this report for the past fifteen years, first under Kei Koizumi and, in recent years, under Patrick Clemins and now Matthew Hourihan.
AAAS drew the data for this report from White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) R&D data, Budget of the United States Government and from agency and historical data. Yearly values are adjusted for inflation using OMB's GDP deflators. Nominal values are unadjusted. FY 2013 are estimates adjusted for the full-year continuing resolution and sequestration. The text of this report is largely drawn directly from the National Science Foundation (NSF) budget justification to Congress1, from NSF program web sites, and to a lesser degree, from other NSF resources.
The definition of Environmental R&D used in this report includes environmental physical, life and social sciences; environmental engineering, energy related fields; environmental data and information; and studies that utilize any or all of the above to address pollution problems or activities that impair the sustained functioning and productivity of the earth’s environment.
We have made no effort to analyze activities by specific “fields of science” or “scientific disciplines.”
Because terms such as “environmental science” and even “research” and “development” have imprecise definitions, estimates of federal funding for environmental R&D must be considered approximations. That is not to say the data and descriptions of particular programs are not accurate, rather that definitions are important in deciding which programs and projects to include in the analysis. We have attempted to maintain consistency over the past fourteen years in order to identify trends.
The budget of the federal government and the activities of its agencies are subject to change — sometimes significant change at short notice. We again encourage readers to explore the web sites and documents of the respective agencies and programs for the latest information.
1. National Science Foundation, FY 2014 Budget Request to Congress http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2015

T
Summary
he National Science Foundation (NSF) provides approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities and approximately half of non-biomedical basic research. Approximately 77 percent of NSF funding goes to colleges and universities.
Figure 1. NSF Environmental R&D Spending 2000-2014 (budget authority in billions of constant FY 2014 dollars)
In FY 2013, an estimated 299,000 people (researchers, postdoctoral fellows, trainees, teachers and students) were supported directly by NSF. Grants have an average duration of three years. Most awards go to individuals or small groups of investigators. Others provide funding for research centers, instruments, and facilities. NSF also supports science and engineering education, which is often connected to research grants.
As an independent federal agency, NSF does not fall under any cabinet department. NSF's activities are guided by the 25-member National Science Board, which also serves as a policy advisory body to the President and Congress. NSF is headed by a Director who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 2014 6
NSF program activities are organized by seven directorates and one program office:
 the Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO);
 Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (CISE);
 Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR);
 Engineering Directorate (ENG);
 Geosciences Directorate (GEO) which now includes Polar Programs;
 Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS); and
 Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE); and
 the Office of International and Integrative Activities (IIA).
As shown in Table 1, Environmental funding is provided primary through BIO, ENG, and GEO (including Polar Programs). However, CISE, MPS, SBE and IIA also provide environmental research funding under the cross-cutting Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability initiative.
Table 1. Environmental R&D at the National Science Foundation (budget authority in millions of dollars)
Change FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 13-14
Actual
Actual
Estimate
Percent
Biological Sciences (BIO)
441
416
465
7.2% Engineering (ENG) 172 167 173 3.6%
Geosciences (GEO)
885
847
868
2.5% Polar Programs1 (POLAR) 179 177 174 -1.6%
Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) in other areas of NSF2
46
65
48
____ ____ ____
TOTAL
1,722
1,672
1,729
3.4%
1. Polar Programs shifted to Geosciences in FY 2014 and accounts reorganized. This will be reflected in structure of future reports. Here Polar Programs are reported separately.
2. Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) is a cross-cutting NSF initiative funded through various Directorates and Offices. This line only include SEES funding not provided through BIO, ENG, GEO and POLAR.
An increasing number of NSF programs are collaborations between Divisions within and across Directorates, across NSF as a whole (e.g. Global Change), and between parts of NSF and other federal agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)) and other entities within the U.S. and internationally. Internal operations - including salaries and expenses for about 1,400 permanent staff - account for approximately 6 percent of NSF's overall budget.

1. Biological Sciences ($465 million)
The mission of the Biosciences Directorate (BIO)2 is to enable discoveries for understanding life. BIO provides about 66 percent of federal funding for non-medical, basic research at academic institutions in the life sciences. Approximately 62 percent of the total BIO budget of $721 million is recognized here as environmental. BIO as a whole expects to award about 1,310 new awards in FY 2015 of which 920 will be new research grants.
Table 2. NSF Funding for Environmental Biosciences Research (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015 Actual Estimate Request
Environmental Biology (DEB)
133
139
138 Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) 205 216 218
Biological Infrastructure (DBI)
77
90
98 Emerging Frontiers (EF) 1 21 38
____
____
____ TOTAL 416 465 492
1.1 Environmental Biology ($139 million)
The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)3 supports research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Research may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative experiments; synthesis activities; and theoretical approaches. Proposals are funded in response to the solicitations under:
 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program4
 Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis (OPUS)5
 Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB)6
 Research Coordination Networks (RCN)
DEB’s FY 2015 request emphasizes research on complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics to improve our ability to understand the reciprocal interactions between living systems and the environment and to inform essential considerations of environmental sustainability. DEB will sustain support for Dimensions of Biodiversity and for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites (SIBS).
DEB supports research in four clusters:
2 Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=BIO
3 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503634&org=DEB&from=home
4 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214&org=DEB

1.1.1 Ecosystem Science Cluster
The Ecosystem Science Cluster backs projects through the Ecosystem Studies Program, which supports investigations of whole-system ecological processes and relationships across a diversity of spatial and temporal (including paleo) scales in order to advance understanding of:
1. material and energy fluxes and transformations within and among ecosystems;
2. roles and relationships of ecosystem components in whole-system structure and function;
3. ecosystem dynamics, resilience, and trajectories of ecosystem change through time; and
4. linkages among ecosystems in space, time, and across spatial and temporal scales.
1.1.2 Evolutionary Processes Cluster
The Evolutionary Processes Cluster supports research on micro- and macro-evolutionary processes and their consequences. Those processes include: natural selection, mutation, gene flow, recombination, genetic drift, assortative mating acting within species, speciation, and long-term features of evolution. The cluster seeks to fund projects that will challenge the conceptual bases of evolutionary biology and have broad implications for future research through two programs:
 The Evolutionary Genetics Program supports research on the genetic bases of micro- and macro-evolutionary processes and their effects on the evolution of genotypes and phenotypes.
 The Evolutionary Ecology Program supports research on the evolutionary causes and consequences of ecological interactions.
1.1.3 Population and Community Ecology Cluster
The Population and Community Ecology Cluster supports research that advances the conceptual or theoretical understanding of population ecology, species interactions, and community dynamics in terrestrial, wetland, and freshwater habitats through the Population and Community Ecology Program.
Topics include the population dynamics of individual species, demography, and fundamental ecological interactions affecting populations, communities, and their environments. Themes include: population regulation; food-web structure and trophic dynamics; competition, predation, mutualism, and parasitism; mechanisms of coexistence and the maintenance of species diversity; community assembly; paleoecology; landscape ecology; conservation and restoration biology; behavioral ecology; and macro- ecology.
1.1.4 Systematics and Biodiversity Science Cluster
The Systematics and Biodiversity Science Cluster supports research that advances understanding of the diversity, systematics, and evolutionary history of organisms in natural systems. The Cluster comprises two core programs:
 The Biodiversity: Discovery & Analysis Program includes expeditionary and exploratory research in natural environments to advance the discovery, identification, description, classification, and cataloguing of the world’s biodiversity.

 The Phylogenetic Systematics Program supports research that addresses significant questions about organismal evolution using phylogenetic approaches, in particular the origins of biodiversity and to resolve the relationships among species across the hierarchy of life.
1.2 Integrative Organismal Services ($216 million)
The Division of Integrative Organismal Services (IOS)7 supports research aimed at understanding why organisms are structured the way they are and function as they do. Areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to, developmental biology and the evolution of developmental processes; nervous system development, structure, and function; physiological processes, functional morphology, symbioses; interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic environments, and animal behavior.
1.2.1 Behavioral Systems Cluster
The Behavioral Systems Cluster consists of:
 The Animal Behavior Program supports research in the area of integrative animal behavior to understand how and why individuals and groups of animals do what they do in nature.
 The Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant Program (DDIG)8.
1.2.2 Developmental Systems Cluster
The Developmental Systems Cluster supports research aimed at understanding how interacting developmental processes give rise to the emergent properties of organisms. The Cluster is also particularly interested in understanding how emergent properties result in the development of complex phenotypes and lead to the evolution of developmental mechanisms.
 The Plant, Fungal and Microbial Developmental Mechanisms Program supports research that addresses developmental processes in plants from algae to angiosperms, microbes, and fungi.
 The Animal Developmental Mechanisms Program supports research that seeks to understand the processes that result in the complex phenotypes of animals.
 The Evolution of Developmental Mechanisms Program supports research on the developmental processes that are shared by all organisms, especially processes that produce diversity.
1.2.3 Neural Systems Cluster
The Neural Systems Cluster focuses on the basic functions of the nervous system and its interactions with the physical and social environments. The neuronal mechanisms underlying organismal responses and adaptation to an ever-changing biosphere are also of interest. The Cluster encourages the use of comparative species approaches to better understand how organisms perceive their environment, transduce that information in the nervous system, and respond appropriately.
 The Organization Program focuses on how the nervous system is organized along
7 http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=IOS
8 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5234&org=IOS

developmental, genetic, molecular, and cellular lines; explores developmental mechanisms and determining how experiential/environmental interactions affect the basic structural and functional characteristics of the nervous system.
 The Activation Program supports research focused on how signals from the external environment activate the nervous system to produce motor responses and investigates how the internal state of the organism reaches a decision threshold, integrates sensorimotor responses, and triggers an action.
 The Modulation Program focuses on how various factors modulate the nervous system to produce complex behavior and how that complex behavior, in turn, feeds back to have an impact on the nervous system. The Program also examines basic neural mechanisms underlying neuroendocrine and neuroimmune function, learning and memory, biological rhythms, and other complex behavior.
1.2.4 Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster
The Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster advances understanding of physiological mechanisms and functional morphology. PSS supports hypothesis- and discovery-based research encompassing a wide range of approaches at levels of organization from molecules to populations.
 The Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition Program supports research on processes mediating both antagonistic and beneficial symbiotic interactions, as well as mechanisms of self/non-self recognition within and between species. All aspects of symbiosis are supported, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, host-pathogen interactions, and mechanisms of foreign organelle acquisition.
 The Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program supports research on the physiological and structural features that contribute to life processes in plants, animals, microbes, and other organisms. Broad thematic areas include sensing and signaling mechanisms, transport, energetics and metabolism, growth and development, stress adaptation mechanisms, biomaterials, muscle physiology, endocrinology, biomechanics, functional morphology, coordination of reproductive processes, gas exchange, circulation, and osmoregulation.
 The Integrative Ecological Physiology Program supports research on the structural and physiological traits of organisms that underlie their capacities to live in various ecological settings. A central focus of the program is research on physiological mechanisms underlying organism responses to biotic and abiotic components of their environments.
1.2.5 Plant Genome Research Program
The Plant Genome Research Program supports genome-scale research to accelerate basic discoveries of relevance to basic plant biology as well as downstream applications of potential societal benefit such as crop improvement, development of new sources of bio-based energy, development of sources of novel bio-based materials, and plant adaptation to global climate change. The Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) Program will continue support for basic research to test innovative, early-concept approaches and technologies for sustainable, science-based solutions to problems of agriculture in developing countries.

1.3 Biological Infrastructure ($90 million)
The Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)9 empowers biological discovery by supporting the development and enhancement of biological research resources, human capital, and centers. In particular, DBI supports the development of or improvements to research infrastructure, including instruments, software, and databases, and improvements to biological research collections, living stock collections, and field stations and marine labs. In addition, DBI funds the development of human capital through support of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral research experiences. Support of center and center-like activities creates opportunities to address targeted but deep biological questions that have major societal impact. DBI supports varied activities that provide the infrastructure for contemporary research in biology. These include human resources and research resources.
1.3.1 Human Resources Cluster
The Human Resources Cluster includes research experiences for undergraduates (sites), undergraduate mentoring in environmental biology, cross-disciplinary research at undergraduate institutions, and, in selected disciplines, postdoctoral research fellowships.
1.3.2 Research Resources Cluster
The Research Resources Cluster includes databases, the curatorial improvement and computerization of research collections, living stock collections, the purchase of major items of multi- user instrumentation, development of new instrumentation, and improvement of research facilities at biological field stations and marine laboratories. This cluster includes:
 The Advances in Biological Informatics (ABI) Program seeks to encourage new approaches to the analysis and dissemination of biological knowledge for the benefit of both the scientific community and the broader public. The ABI program is especially interested in the development of informatics tools and resources that have the potential to advance or transform research in biology supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation. The ABI program accepts three major types of proposals: innovation awards that seek to pioneer new approaches to the application of informatics to biological problems, development awards that seek to provide robust cyberinfrastructure that will enable transformative biological research, and sustaining awards that seek to support ongoing operations and maintenance of existing cyberinfrastructure that is critical for continued advancement of priority biological research.
 The Collections in Support of Biological Research (CSBR) Program provides funds: 1) for improvements to secure, improve, and organize collections that are significant to the NSF BIO- funded research community; 2) to secure collections-related data for sustained, accurate, and efficient accessibility of the collection to the biological research community; and 3) to transfer collection ownership responsibilities.
In general, 28 percent of the DBI portfolio is available for new research grants and 72 percent funds
9 http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DBI

continuing grants made in previous years.
1.4 Emerging Frontiers ($21 million)
Emerging Frontiers (EF) identifies, incubates, and supports infrastructure and research areas that transcend scientific disciplines and/or advance the conceptual foundations of biology. It is also responsible for high-risk, high-profile projects, such as NEON, that require additional oversight mechanisms. Typically, developing programs and priority areas begin in EF and then shift to other BIO divisions to become part of the disciplinary knowledge base.
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)10 is a continental scale research instrument consisting of geographically distributed infrastructure, networked via cybertechnology into an integrated research platform for regional to continental scale ecological research. Cutting-edge sensor networks, instrumentation, experimental infrastructure, natural history archive facilities, and remote sensing will be linked via the internet to computational, analytical, and modeling capabilities to create NEON's integrated infrastructure.
NEON will transform biological research by enabling studies on major environmental challenges at regional to continental scales. Research topics enabled will include the impacts of climate and land use change, water use, and invasive species on the nation's living ecosystems at temporal and spatial scales that are relevant to human well-being. NEON will be the first research platform and the only national experimental facility specifically designed to enable basic research in these areas. Scientists and engineers will use NEON to conduct real-time ecological studies spanning all levels of biological organization and temporal and geographical scales.
In FY 2015 EF will provide $38 million for NEON operations and maintenance, increasing to an estimated $44 million in FY 2016 and $65 million in FY 2016, which will be maintained in out years.
An addition $96 million will be provided through NSF’s Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account. This amount is part of an estimated total project construction cost of $434 million for NEON. In FY 2016, the final $80 million for NEON construction is projected to be allocated. Construction was initiated in August 2011. Construction of technical support facilities was completed in September 2013 and these facilities were used to support other construction activities.
NEON’s airborne observation platform provides remote sensing through aircraft-mounted instrumentation deployed on three aircraft. The first two airborne observatories were constructed and pathfinder missions were conducted in FY 2013 with NASA to support research studies and management of major forest fires. The third airborne observatory was delivered ahead of schedule and its pathfinder flights were planned for FY 2014. By the fourth quarter of FY 2015, the three airborne observatories will begin to transition to full Observatory operations with the transition complete in FY 2016.
The NEON project is funded through cooperative agreements with NEON, Inc., a non-profit, membership-governed consortium established to oversee the design, construction, management, and operation of NEON for the scientific community.
10 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13440&org=DBI

2. Engineering ($173 million)
NSF’s Directorate of Engineering (ENG)11 provides about 37 percent of the federal funding for basic research in engineering at academic institutions. Approximately one-fifth of the ENG Budget occurs in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transportation Systems and is considered environmental.
2.1 Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transportation Systems
Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transportation Systems (CBET) supports research to enhance and protect U.S. national health, energy, food, water, environment, process manufacturing, and security. Through CBET, the physical, chemical, life, and social sciences are integrated in engineering research and education, resulting in advances in the rapidly evolving fields of biotechnology, bioengineering, advanced materials, environmental engineering, sustainable energy, and in areas that involve the transformation and/or transport of matter and energy by chemical, thermal, or mechanical means. CBET investments contribute significantly to the knowledge base and to the development of the workforce for major components of the U.S. economy, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, specialty chemicals, and materials for advanced manufacturing, forest products, metals, natural gas and petroleum production, food, textiles, utilities, and microelectronics.
Table 3. NSF Funding for Environmental Biosciences Research (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Chemical, Bioengineering, and Transportation Systems (CBET) 167 173 175
____
____
____ TOTAL 167 173 175
2.1.1 Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Cluster
The Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Division advances the disciplines of civil, mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering, and materials design. In addition, the CMMI has a focus on the reduction of risks and damage resulting from earthquakes and other natural and technological hazards. CMMI has four program clusters, each containing four to five programs:
 Advanced Manufacturing supports fundamental research leading to transformative advances in manufacturing and building technologies across size scales from nanometers to kilometers, with emphases on efficiency, economy, and minimal environmental footprint.
 Mechanics and Engineering Materials supports fundamental research aimed at advances in the transformation and use of engineering materials efficiently, economically, and sustainably.
 Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructures supports research on geotechnical, structural, and earthquake engineering, distributed infrastructure systems management, and response to
11 NSF Engineering Directorate - http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=eng

hazardous events. Research on social, behavioral, and economic issues related to natural and technological hazards is also invited. The Cluster plays a major role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), created by Congress by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977.
 Systems Engineering and Design supports fundamental research on the decision-making aspects of engineering, including design, control, and optimization as applied at levels ranging from component to enterprise systems.
2.1.2 Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Cluster
The Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) addresses fundamental research issues underlying device and component technologies, power, controls, computation, networking, communications, and cyber technologies. ECCS supports the integration and networking of intelligent systems principles at the nano, micro and macro scales for a variety of application domains in healthcare, homeland security, disaster mitigation, energy, telecommunications, environment, transportation, manufacturing, and other systems-related areas.
The ECCS Division is organized around the following three programs:
 Electronics, Photonics and Magnetic Devices (EPMD) enables discovery and innovation advancing the frontiers of nanoelectronics, spin electronics, molecular and organic electronics, bioelectronics, biomagnetics, non-silicon electronics, and flexible electronics.
 Energy, Power, Control and Networks (EPCN) invests in systems and control methods for analysis and design of cyber-physical systems to ensure stability, performance, robustness, and security and systems research in such areas as energy, transportation, and nanotechnology.
 Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems (CCSS) supports systems research in hardware, signal processing techniques, and architectures to enable solutions for a variety of application domains including environmental monitoring, disaster mitigation, energy, and smart buildings.
2.1.3 Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Cluster
Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) funds interdisciplinary topics at the frontiers of engineering research and education that have the potential for transformative impacts on national needs and/or grand challenges. Recent EFRI topics have included areas such as: sustainable energy sources; integrated systems designed to make U.S. infrastructures more resilient to disasters; advances in robotics; manufacturing healthcare; and regeneration of some of the body’s most complex tissues.
2.1.4 Engineering Education and Centers
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Engineering Research Centers promote partnerships among researchers in different disciplines and between industry and universities. They focus their research programs on transformational engineered systems and produce technological innovations that strengthen the competitive position of industry.

3. Geosciences ($868 million)
NSF’s Geosciences Directorate (GEO)12 provides about 61 percent of the federal funding for basic research at academic institutions in the geosciences. GEO supports basic research to promote understanding of the many processes that affect the global environment, including the role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate, the planetary water cycle, and ocean acidification.
In 2014, NSF’s Polar Programs were moved within the Geosciences Directorate. For this report, the Office of Polar Programs is shown separately (see below), but it will be contained within GEO in future reports.
In FY 2015, GEO will make an estimated 1,600 new awards (approximately 1,350 research awards) with an average duration of 2.7 years. About 24 percent of proposals will be funded. About 5,700 senior researchers will be supported along with 3,200 other professionals, 600 postdoctorates, and 2,800 graduate students.
Table 4. NSF Funding for Environmental Geosciences Research (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Atmospheric Sciences 245 250 251
Earth Sciences
174
178
178 Ocean Sciences 344 357 357
Integrative & Collaborative Research & Education
85
84
84 ____ ____
TOTAL
847
868
869
3.1 Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences ($250 million)
The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) supports research to add new understanding of the behavior of the earth's atmosphere and its interactions with the sun. Included are:
 Studies of the physics, chemistry, and dynamics of earth's upper and lower atmosphere and its space environment.
 Research on climate processes and variations.
 Studies to understand the natural global cycles of gases and particles in earth's atmosphere.
NSF also provides support for participation by the United States scientific community in international scientific research endeavors, such as the World Climate Research Program.
12 Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=GEO

Table 5. NSF Funding for Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Research 121 126 123
Education
4
3
3 Infrastructure 121 122 125
[Under which is NCAR]
[96]
[95]
[98] ____ ____
TOTAL
245
250
251
3.1.1 Atmosphere Section
 The Atmospheric Chemistry Program supports research to measure and model the concentration and distribution of gases and aerosols in the lower and middle atmosphere, as well as research on the chemical reactions among atmospheric species; the sources and sinks of important trace gases and aerosols; the aqueous-phase atmospheric chemistry; the transport of gases and aerosols throughout the atmosphere; and the improved methods for measuring the concentrations of trace species and their fluxes into and out of the atmosphere.
 The Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics Program aims to: (i) advance knowledge about the processes that force and regulate the atmosphere’s synoptic and planetary circulation, weather, and climate, and (ii) sustain the pool of human resources required for excellence in synoptic and global atmospheric dynamics and climate research.
 Paleoclimate research focuses on the natural evolution of Earth's climate with the goal of providing a baseline for present variability and future trends through improved understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that influence climate over the long-term.
 Physical and Dynamic Meteorology supports research involving studies of cloud physics; atmospheric electricity; radiation; boundary layer and turbulence; the initiation, growth, and propagation of gravity waves; all aspects of mesoscale meteorological phenomena, including their morphological, thermodynamic, and kinematic structure; development of mesoscale systems and precipitation processes; and transfer of energy between scales.
3.1.2 Geospace Section
 The Aeronomy Program supports upper and middle atmosphere research on ionization, recombination, chemical reaction, photo emission, and transport; the transport of energy, and momentum; and on the mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system.
 The Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Program supports research to understand the behavior of atmospheric regions from the middle atmosphere upward through the thermosphere and ionosphere into the exosphere in terms of coupling, energetics, chemistry, and dynamics on regional and global scales.
 The Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Program supports research on the physics of

the Earth's magnetosphere and the coupling of the magnetosphere to the atmosphere and to the solar wind. The purpose of the GEM program is to advance understanding of the dynamical and structural properties of geospace, leading to the construction of a global Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) with predictive capability.
 Magnetospheric Physics supports research on the magnetized plasma envelope of the outer atmosphere.
 The Solar Terrestrial Program supports research on the processes by which energy in diverse forms is generated by the Sun, transported to the Earth, and ultimately deposited in the terrestrial environment. Major topics include space weather impacts, helioseismology, the solar dynamo, the solar activity cycle, magnetic flux emergence, solar flares and eruptive activity, coronal mass ejections, solar wind heating, solar energetic particles, interactions with cosmic rays, and solar wind/magnetosphere boundary problems.
 The Geospace Facilities Program supports four large incoherent-scatter radar facilities and the SuperDARN coherent scatter radar system. The incoherent-scatter radars are located along a longitudinal chain from Greenland to Peru. Each of the incoherent-scatter facilities is also equipped with powerful optical diagnostic instruments. The SuperDARN consists of a number of coherent-scatter HF radars in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
 Solar, Heliospheric, and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE) is an affiliation of researchers within the solar, interplanetary, and heliospheric communities, dedicated to promoting an enhanced understanding of the processes by which energy in the form of magnetic fields and particles are produced by the Sun and/or accelerated in interplanetary space and on the mechanisms by which these fields and particles are transported to the Earth through the inner heliosphere.
 CubeSat-based Science Missions for Geospace and Atmospheric Research supports the development, construction, launch, operation, and data analysis of small satellite science missions to advance geospace and atmospheric research.
3.1.3 NCAR/Facilities Section
 NSF also provides about $95 million in support to operate the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) through AGS. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is Federally Funded Research and Development Center, sponsored by NSF. NCAR is a focal point for research in the field of atmospheric sciences. NCAR is located in Boulder, Colorado, and has about 750 scientists and support personnel.
NCAR scientists conduct research in atmospheric and related sciences and work with universities and other organizations to coordinate large scale atmospheric research projects. In addition, NCAR and certain universities operate major aircraft, computers, and other facilities for use by universities, NCAR, and scientists.
NCAR facilities include a computing center that provides supercomputer resources and services for the development and production of large models and for archiving, manipulating, and visualizing large data sets.

NCAR research programs focus on the following areas: large-scale atmospheric and ocean dynamics that contribute to an understanding of the past and present climate processes and global change, including interactions with other environmental systems; global and regional atmospheric chemistry including geochemical and biogeochemical cycles; the variable nature of the Sun and the physics of the corona; the physics of clouds, thunderstorms, precipitation formation, and the interactions and effects on larger-scale weather; and the examination of human society's impact on and response to global environmental change. In addition, NCAR provides fellowships for visiting scientists to conduct research and interact with NCAR
NCAR is managed under a cooperative agreement between the Foundation and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a non-profit consortium of 104 North American universities with graduate programs in atmospheric sciences.
 The Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program consists of planning, budgeting, coordination, and oversight of multi-user national facilities that are sponsored by NSF for the geosciences research community. Program Management resides within the UCAR and Lower Atmospheric Facilities Oversight Section (ULAFOS) which provides a single point for coordination. This includes support for the National Mobile Doppler Radar Facility.
3.2 Earth Sciences ($174 million)
Earth Science Research Division (EAR) supports fundamental research into the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth and the life it has sustained over the four and a half billion years of Earth history. The results of this research will lead to a better understanding of Earth's changing environment (past, present, and future); the natural distribution of its mineral, water, biota, and energy resources; and provide methods for predicting and mitigating the effects of geologic hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and landslides.
Table 6. NSF Funding for Earth Sciences (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Education
4
5
[Geodetic facilities for Advancement of Geoscience & EarthScope (GAGE)]
[9]
[12]
[12] [Seismological facilities for Advancement of Geosciences & EarthScope (SAGE)] [24] [24] [24]
[Research Resources]
[24]
[22]
[22] ____ ____
TOTAL
174
178
178

3.2.1 Deep Earth Processes Section
 The Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities Program
 The EarthScope Program supports broad, integrated studies across the Earth sciences, including research on fault properties and the earthquake process; strain transfer; magmatic and hydrous fluids in the crust and mantle; plate boundary processes; large-scale continental deformation; continental structure and evolution; and composition and structure of the deep Earth.
 The Geophysics Program supports basic research in the physics of the solid earth to explore its composition, structure, and processes from the Earth's surface to its deepest interior. Topics include seismicity, seismic wave propagation, and the nature and occurrence of geophysical hazards; the Earth's magnetic, gravity, and electrical fields; the Earth's thermal structure; and geodynamics.
 The Petrology and Geochemistry Program supports basic research on the formation of planet Earth, including its accretion, early differentiation, and subsequent petrologic and geochemical modification via igneous and metamorphic processes.
 The Tectonics Program supports investigations aimed at understanding the deformation of the terrestrial continental lithosphere (i.e. above the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary). The Program focuses on non-magmatic deformation processes and their tectonic drivers that operate at any depth within the continental lithosphere, on time-scales of decades/centuries (e.g. active tectonics) and longer, and at micro- to plate boundary/orogenic belt length-scales.
3.2.2 Surface Earth Processes Section
 The Education and Human Resources Program (E&HR) facilitates activities that engage a wide range of audiences in Earth Sciences research efforts, which are research experiences for undergraduates and teachers; faculty early career development (CAREER); and EAR Postdoctoral Fellowships.
 The Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry Program supports research on:
i. the interactions between biological and geological systems at all scales of space and time;
ii. geomicrobiology and biomineralization processes;
iii. the role of life in the transformation and evolution of the Earth's geochemical cycles;
iv. inorganic and organic geochemical processes occurring at or near the Earth's surface now and in the past, and at the broad spectrum of interfaces ranging in scale from planetary and regional to mineral-surface and supramolecular;
v. mineralogy and chemistry of soils and sediments;
vi. surficial chemical and biogeochemical systems and cycles and their modification through natural and anthropogenic change; and
vii. development of tools, methods, and models for low-temperature geochemistry and geobiological research - such as those emerging from molecular biology - in the study of the terrestrial environment.

 The Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics Program supports innovative research into processes that shape and modify landscapes over a variety of length and time scales. The program encourages research that quantitatively investigates the coupling and feedback among such processes, their rates, and their relative roles, especially in the contexts of variation in climatic and tectonic influences and in light of changes due to human impact.
 The Hydrologic Sciences Program focuses on the fluxes of water in the environment that constitute the water cycle as well as the mass and energy transport function of the water cycle in the environment. The Program supports studying processes from rainfall to runoff to infiltration and streamflow; evaporation and transpiration; the flow of water in soils and aquifers; and the transport of suspended, dissolved, and colloidal components. Water is seen as the mode of coupling among various components of the environment and emphasis is placed on how the coupling is enabled by the water cycle and how it functions as a process.
 The Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology Program (SGP) supports research in a wide variety of areas in sedimentary geology and paleobiology in order to comprehend the full range of physical, biological, and chemical processes of Earth's dynamic system. The program supports the study of deep-time records of these processes archived in the Earth's sedimentary carapace (crust) at all spatial and temporal scales. These records are fingerprints of the processes that produced them and continue to shape the Earth.
3.2.3 Special Programs Related to EAR
 The Cooperative Studies Of The Earth's Deep Interior (CSEDI) Program supports research on the character and dynamics of the Earth's mantle and core, their influence on the evolution of the Earth as a whole, and their influence on processes operating within the deep interior that affect or are expressed on the Earth's surface.
 The Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) supports interdisciplinary research that examines human and natural system processes and the complex interactions among human and natural systems at diverse scales.
 The GeoPrisms (Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting Margins) Program supports investigations of the coupled geodynamics, earth surface processes, and climate interactions that build and modify continental margins over a wide range of timescales. These interactions cross the shoreline and have applications to margin evolution and dynamics, construction of stratigraphic architecture, accumulation of economic resources, and associated geologic hazards and environmental management.
3.3 Ocean Sciences ($343 million)
The Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) addresses the central role of the oceans in a changing Earth and as a national strategic resource, as recognized in the President’s 2010 Executive Order establishing a National Ocean Policy (NOP) and creating a National Ocean Council (NOC) to implement the policy. OCE supports interdisciplinary research to better understand changing ocean circulation and other physical parameters, biodiversity and the dynamics of marine organisms and ecosystems, and changing ocean chemistry as exemplified by ocean acidification. OCE also supports research on the

geology of the ocean margins and sub-seafloor to investigate past ocean and climate conditions, stability of methane hydrates, natural hazards associated with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and microbial life deep below the seafloor.
Table 7. NSF funding for Ocean Sciences (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Education
6
5
[Academic Research Fleet]
[81]
[83]
[85] [International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP)] [48] [50] [48]
[Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI)]
[37]
[53]
[41] [Other] [13] [8] [10]
____
____
TOTAL 244 357 357
3.3.1 Ocean Section
 The Biological Oceanography Program supports research in marine ecology broadly defined as relationships among aquatic organisms and their interactions with the environments of the oceans or Great Lakes. Projects submitted to the program for consideration are often interdisciplinary efforts that may include participation by other OCE Programs.
 The Physical Oceanography Program supports research on a wide range of topics associated with the structure and movement of the ocean; the way in which it transports various quantities; the way the ocean’s physical structure interacts with the biological and chemical processes within it; and interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, solid earth, and ice that surround it.
3.3.2 Marine Geosciences Section
 The Chemical Oceanography Program supports research into the chemical components, reaction mechanisms, and geochemical pathways within the ocean and at its interfaces with the solid earth and the atmosphere. Major emphases include: studies of material inputs to and outputs from marine waters; orthochemical and biological production and transformation of chemical compounds and phases within the marine system; and the determination of reaction rates and study of equilibria. The Program encourages research into the chemistry, distribution, and fate of inorganic and organic substances introduced into or produced within marine environments including those from estuarine waters to the deep sea.
 The Marine Geology and Geophysics Program supports research on all aspects of geology and geophysics of the ocean basins and margins, as well as the Great Lakes. The Program

includes:
• Structure, tectonic evolution and volcanic activity of the ocean basins, the continental margins, the mid-ocean ridges, and island arc systems;
• Processes controlling exchange of heat and chemical species between seawater and ocean rocks;
• Genesis, chemistry, and mineralogic evolution of marine sediments;
• Processes controlling deposition, erosion, and transport of marine sediments;
• Past ocean circulation patterns and climates; and
• Interactions of continental and marine geologic processes.
3.3.3 Integrative Programs Section
• The Ocean Drilling Program supports the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), an international scientific research program supported by 24 countries, and advances scientific understanding of the Earth by monitoring, drilling, sampling, and analyzing subseafloor environments. IODP scientific objectives require a heavy vessel for drilling deep sedimentary and crustal holes; a lighter vessel to provide widely distributed arrays of high resolution cores to address climate, environmental, and observatory objectives; and use of other drilling platforms, called Mission Specific Platforms (MSPs), for the Arctic and shallow water projects which can’t be undertaken from the two primary IODP vessels.
• OCE Education supports efforts to integrate ocean research and education via three main program areas, which are:
1. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program.
2. Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER).
3. Centers for Ocean Education Excellence (COSEE), which supports partnerships between ocean science researchers, educators, and informal science organizations to provide the public a deeper understanding of the ocean and its influence on each person's quality of life and our national prosperity.
• The Oceanographic Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination (OTIC) Program supports instrumentation development that has broad applicability to ocean science research projects and that enhance observational, experimental, or analytical capabilities of the ocean science research community.
• The Oceanographic Facilities and Equipment Support program makes awards for the procurement, conversion and/or upgrade, enhancement, or annual operation of platforms in the ocean, coastal, near-shore, and Great Lakes.
3.3.4 Other OCE special funding opportunities:
 Improvements in Facilities, Communications, and Equipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSML). Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSMLs) are off-campus facilities for research and education conducted in the natural habitats

of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. FSMLs support environmental and basic biological research and education by preserving access to study areas and organisms, by providing facilities and equipment in close proximity to those study areas, and by fostering an atmosphere of mutual scientific interest and collaboration in research and education. To fulfill these roles, FSMLs must offer modern research and educational facilities, equipment, communications, and data management systems for a broad array of users.
 Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2). The goal of research funded under the interdisciplinary P2C2 solicitation is to utilize key geological, chemical, atmospheric (gas in ice cores), and biological records of climate system variability to provide insights into the mechanisms and rate of change that characterized Earth's past climate variability, the sensitivity of Earth's climate system to changes in forcing, and the response of key components of the Earth system to these changes.
 The Long Term Ecological Research program (LTER) includes 25 sites funded across NSF including OCE. Solicitation is open to renewal proposals only.
3.4 Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research ($84 million)
Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) makes investments that cut across traditional boundaries within the geosciences and develop innovative means to initiate and support geoscience education, attract underrepresented groups to careers in the geosciences, foster the interchange of scientific information nationally and internationally, and join with other parts of NSF in major integrative research and education efforts.
Table 7. NSF funding for Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Research 71 71 52
Education
13
12
____
____
TOTAL 85 84 84
In FY 2015, ICER will support:
 NSF-wide Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) ($15 million.)
 a varied portfolio of international collaborative activities ($7 million).

FY 2015 sees the end of an experimental program, Frontiers in Earth System Dynamics. This $14 million effort sought to catalyze interdisciplinary studies of the Earth system, with supported projects spanning multiple disciplines.
Beginning in FY 2015, ICER is providing $14.0 million in support of operation and maintenance for the Ocean Observatories Initiative.
4. Polar Programs ($174 million)
Polar Programs shifted to Geosciences in FY 2014 and accounts reorganized. This will be reflected in structure of future reports. Here Polar Programs are reported separately.
The Division of Polar Programs (POLAR)13 manages and initiates NSF funding for basic research and its operational support in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The funds are provided as NSF grants to institutions (mainly U.S. universities), whose scientists perform the research at the institutions or in a polar region, and as cooperative agreements or contracts to support organizations including contractors and the U.S. military.
POLAR supports individual investigators or research teams and U.S. participation in multinational projects. Projects can involve investigators from many disciplines and institutions over several years.
Organizationally, POLAR has two science sections - one for the Arctic and the Antarctic. A third section manages the logistics and support operations including field stations, camps, laboratories, ships, and airplanes. Environmental, health, and safety issues are handled by the Polar Environment, Health and Safety Section.
Table 8. NSF funding for Polar Programs (budget authority in millions of dollars)
FY 2013
FY 2014
Research & Education 128 129 129
Arctic Research Support
44
41
39 Antarctic Neutrino Observatory 3 3 3
Arctic Research Commission
1
1
1 ____ ____ 172
TOTAL
177
174
172
Note: In addition to the funding shown in Table 8 above. NSF provided Infrastructure support in certain areas, which is not included within the R&D account carried out here. In FY 2014, this included $304 million:
 Arctic Research Support and Logistics $41 million
 U.S. Antarctic Facilities and Logistics $188 million
 U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support (USALS) $68 million
13 Office of Polar Programs (OPP) http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=OPP

 Polar Environment, Health, and Safety (PEHS) $6 million
As a result total funding for the Division of Polar Programs in FY 2014 was $435 million.
The United States is a leading nation in polar science, and research results have global significance. Because the polar regions intrigue the public, they provide opportunities for educational enrichment.
Polar regions are unique natural laboratories. A range of research can be undertaken only there or best there. POLAR considers supporting polar research in these areas:
 Understanding Earth and its systems. Goals include achieving better understanding of polar regions' influence on and response to global heat distribution in the oceans and the atmosphere, adaptations of organisms to polar extremes, and the valuable records of past climates and atmospheric constituents in ice cores, polar ocean sediments, and other indicators.
 Exploring the geographical frontier. Many fields of science are exploring the still unevenly understood polar frontiers. For example, the central Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean are the least studied oceans, especially during winter.
 Performing science enabled by the polar setting. Polar conditions can enable research either not possible elsewhere or less effective elsewhere. Examples are the extremely dry atmosphere over the South Pole as a window for astrophysical study of the origins of the universe, Arctic social sciences, and Antarctic medical sciences.
4.1 Antarctic Sciences
 The Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences Program supports studies of three major domains:
o Middle and upper atmosphere — mesosphere and thermosphere;
o near-Earth solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere; and
o astronomy and astrophysical studies of the Universe..
 The Antarctic Earth Sciences Program supports research to provide insights into Antarctica's rich history and lead to increased understanding of the processes that shape it today. It emphases:
o Understanding the evolution of Antarctic ice sheets;
o Deciphering paleo-environmental and paleo-biological records to understand global climate, ocean circulation, and the evolution of life;
o Exploring Antarctica's tectonic evolution; and
o Investigating unique processes, such as the formation of sub-glacial lakes or the aeolian and permafrost sculpting of the Dry Valleys.
 The Antarctic Glaciology Program is concerned with the study of the history and dynamics of all naturally occurring forms of snow and ice, including floating ice shelves, glaciers, and continental and marine ice sheets. Program emphases include paleo-environments from ice cores, ice dynamics, numerical modeling, glacial geology, and remote sensing of ice sheets. This includes support for the multidisciplinary West Antarctic Ice Sheet program (WAIS), and the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE).

 The Antarctic Integrated System Science (AISS) Program supports projects that transcend disciplinary boundaries, are highly integrated, and address the need for integrative approaches to forge new understanding of the complex interactions that govern Antarctica and its past, present, and future roles in the earth system.
o The Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Program is intended to improve understanding of the oceanic environment at high latitudes, including global exchange of heat, salt, water, and trace elements, sea-ice dynamics, and tropospheric chemistry and dynamics. Major program elements include: [i] Physical oceanography; [ii] Chemical oceanography; [iii] Sea ice dynamics; and, [iv]Meteorology
 The Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Program aims to improve understanding of organisms and their interactions within the biosphere and geosphere. The program supports projects directed at all levels of biological organization from molecular, cellular, and organismal communities and ecosystems up to regional and global scales. Particular emphases include:
o Marine ecosystems
o Terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
o Population dynamics, physiological ecology, and adaptation
o Genomics
4.2 Arctic Sciences
 The Arctic Natural Sciences Program supports disciplinary and interdisciplinary research on arctic processes and phenomena, with particular emphasis on understanding the changing arctic environment. The Program encourages proposals that test hypotheses leading to new understanding of the Arctic and the development of predictive tools. Although proposals to perform monitoring per se are discouraged, the program welcomes proposals that use the data generated by the Arctic Observing Network to advance scientific understanding of the Arctic.
 The Arctic Observing Network (AEON) enables the environmental observing infrastructure required for the scientific investigation of Arctic environmental system change and its global connections. AON encompasses physical, biological, social, cultural, and economic observations, including indigenous knowledge, of the land, ocean, atmosphere (troposphere and stratosphere), and social systems
 The Arctic Social Sciences Program encompasses all social sciences supported by NSF. These include, but are not limited to, anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, linguistics, political science, psychology, science and technology studies, sociology, traditional knowledge, and related subjects.
 The Arctic System Science Program (ARCSS) funds proposals or groups of proposals that advance our understanding of the Arctic as a system. ARCSS projects are often interdisciplinary and focus on the relationships among the physical, biological, chemical, and human processes that govern the cycling of energy and matter in the Arctic system. The cycles of carbon, water, and energy are important to consider in investigating the functioning of the Arctic system.

5. Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES)
In FY 2010, NSF developed Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) in response to numerous major community reports, including the August 2009 National Science Board (NSB) report Building a Sustainable Energy Future14, which emphasized the need for a coordinated program. Initial efforts focused on developing and coordinating a suite of research and education programs at the intersection of climate and environment, with specific attention to human behavior. These solicitations (Dimensions of Biodiversity; Regional and Decadal Earth System Modeling; Ocean Acidification; Water Sustainability and Climate; and the Climate Change Education Program) resulted in awards totaling approximately $70 million15,16.
In FY 2011, NSF maintained momentum in the SEES investment area by augmenting existing interdisciplinary programs (Coupled Natural and Human Systems [CNH], Research Coordination Networks [RCN]) and issuing a Dear Colleague Letter [DCL] that advanced the research and education activities proposed for 2011 and laid the groundwork for programs proposed for continuance and expansion in FY 2012. In FY 2011 NSF made over 50 SEES awards totaling approximately $88 million17.
In its FY 2012 Budget Request, NSF proposed to expand SEES through significant investments in programs related to energy and collaborative networks. Interdisciplinary working groups drafted and NSF released solicitations, although at reduced scope and funding levels, for four new activities consistent with the FY 2012 plans. These four new activities were: the NSF SEES Fellows program, at the postdoctoral level; Sustainability Research Networks (SRN), that include existing and new centers of collaboration; Sustainable Energy Pathways (SEP) focused on integrated energy resource utilization; and a SEES-focused Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) competition, which advances international networks. In FY 2012 NSF made nearly 80 SEES awards totaling approximately $157 million18.
In FY 2013, NSF initiated five SEES programs that complemented programs developed in FY 2012 and prior years. These investments extend the SEES investment area toward achieving its challenging goals and focus on environmental, technological, and societal resilience; dissemination of results; responsiveness to societal needs; and workforce development. These five programs are:
o Coastal SEES - Designed to enable place-based system-level understanding of coastal systems on a variety of spatial and temporal scales;
14 NSB-09-55, Building a Sustainable Energy Future: U.S. Actions for an Effective Energy Economy Transformation - http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsb0955/index.jsp?org=NSF
15 Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability, NSF-Wide Investments (p. 29), in FY 2011 NSF Budget Request to Congress - http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2011/pdf/23-NSF-Wide_Investments_fy2011.pdf
16 Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability in FY 2012 NSF Budget Request to Congress - http://nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2012/pdf/42_fy2012.pdf
17 Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability in FY 2013 NSF Budget Request to Congress - http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2013/pdf/42_fy2013.pdf

o Arctic (ArcSEES) - Supports fundamental research that improves our ability to evaluate the sustainability of the Arctic human-environmental system;
o Interdisciplinary Research in Hazards and Disasters (Hazards SEES) - Provides support to advance understanding of fundamental processes associated with specific natural hazards, and technological hazards linked to natural phenomena, and their interactions;
o Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) - Enables the basic science and engineering discoveries needed to utilize new (non-petroleum based) sources of important raw materials; and
o Cyber SEES - Aims to advance interdisciplinary research in which the science and engineering of sustainability are enabled by new advances in computing, and where computational innovation is grounded in the context of sustainability problems.
In FY 2013, NSF made over 140 awards totaling approximately $166 million.
Funding for SEES19 comes through the various directorates and offices of NSF as shown in Table 9.
Table 9. NSF funding for Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability initiative (budget authority in millions of dollars)
Directorate
FY 2013
FY 2014
Biological Sciences 31 31 21
Computer and Information Science and Engineering
14
11
11 Engineering 18 15 12
Geosciences
70
68
59 Mathematical and Physical Sciences 33 22 23
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
7
5
4 International and Integrative Activities 10 10 10
____
____
172 TOTAL 184 162 139
In FY 2014, SEES will continue to support important scientific and societal contributions and make significant progress toward achieving programmatic goals. Of particular note is the Sustainability Research Networks solicitation issued in FY 2014 that will build linkages to expedite progress across the complicated landscape of urban sustainability, which has emerged as a critical need for the 21st century.
The FY 2014 Estimate level for the SEES portfolio is $162, $61 million below the FY 2014 Request.

In FY 2015, SEES passes the midpoint of its planned ten-year lifetime and enters a transition period toward “sunsetting” in FY 2017, the last year in which funds will formally be associated with the SEES activity.
In FY 2015, SEES will continue investment in all programs initiated in FY 2010-2013, with the exception of Sustainable Energy Pathways, which phases out in FY 2014.
Further reductions are planned for FY 2016 and FY 2017.
Planning for the follow-on activity related to water (i.e., SEES Water Sustainability and Climate Program) is well-advanced, envisioning integration of scholarship from hydrologists, engineers, ecologists, agricultural scientists, and scientists that study the processes of social, behavioral, and economic sciences to focus research on the water/food/energy nexus.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

2014 NSF Environmental R&D Report October 2014

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2014 NSF Environmental R&D Report October 2014