Nonmilitary Research Takes a Hit

BUDGET

THE HUGE COSTS of the Iraq War and hurricane relief forced Congress to trim spending in the 2006 budget. As a result, academic researchers will find it harder to get federal funding. Money earmarked for nonmilitary research inched up ever so slightly but didn't keep up with the rate of inflation. So in real terms, there will be less money for research. Both the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) say they'll OK about 1 grant application in 5. At the NSF, that's a continuation of a long, steady decline in its approval rate. But the NIH's funding ratio was 1 in 3 just five years ago. Essentially, the budget numbers are flat: staying at $28.6 billion at the NIH and at $5.5 billion at the NSF. Oh, and students got hit, too. Most student-aid programs were pared.-TG

Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Apr 2006
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