National Science Foundation

The American people recognized that scientists and engineers had helped win World War II. Penicillin and the atomic bomb were but the two best known of the many contributions made by the research community. With the coming of peace, the challenge facing politicians and researchers alike was how to ensure that science and engineering would continue both to expand the frontiers of knowledge and serve the American people. The answer was the National Science Foundation (NSF), established in 1950, which continues to be the only federal agency dedicated to the support of fundamental research and education in all scientific and engineering disciplines. Charged with making certain that the United States maintains leadership in scientific discovery and the development of new technologies, the NSF has provided funding for thousands of distinguished scientists and engineers to conduct groundbreaking research, including many Nobel Prize Winners.