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Federal Funding of Astronomical Research (2000) / Chapter Skim
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7. Findings
Pages 56-58

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From page 56...
... This decline affects both the grants programs, since the number of astronomers increased over this 9-year period by 15 percent, and the facilities and instrumentation program. Increases in NASA funding have taken up the shortfall in some areas such as optical and infrared astronomy; however the shift in balance toward mission-oriented support has created vuInerabilities in subf~elds for which NASA support is not readily available, such as broad-based theory, computational astrophysics, and radio astronomy, where some erosion in grant funding is already evident.
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From page 57...
... Based on the results of this study the committee suggests that the following proposition be considered in future assessments of the fielcI: plans for future facility construction, both ground based and space based, should be accompanied by a strategy to accomplish the scientific mission, including provision of instrumentation for grouncI-based telescopes, support for observations, and funds for the necessary and relevant astrophysical theory. The strategy should include contingencies for ensuring the continuity of research in critical subf~elds in the event that major facilities are lost or significantly cielayed.
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From page 58...
... Agency databases with annualized grant figures properly categorized not only would help those trying to track changes in the field but also could supply in-put for broader science policy decision making. In this context, the committee also urges scientific societies to track membership demographics by collecting information directly from their members on discipline, field, and employment status and location.
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Key Terms

  • scientific return
  • individual research
  • astrophysical theory
  • overlapping agency
  • individual investigator

  • grant funding
  • premature termination
  • astronomical sciences
  • gsfc resulting
  • scientific questions

  • program accounts
  • membership demographics
  • major observational
  • scientific capability
  • jobs directly

  • worrisome corollary
  • nasa funding
  • report supporting
  • dramatic shift
  • future missions

  • total support
  • properly categorized
  • primary scientific
  • additional loss
  • hst grants

  • nasa space
  • research mission
  • nsf supplying
  • overall health
  • support associated


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