NSF Act of 1950 (Public Law 81-507)

SECTION I
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACT OF 1950
FUNCTIONS (42 U.S.C. §1862)
§ 1862. Functions
(a) Initiation and support of studies and programs; scholarships; current register of scientific
and engineering personnel
The Foundation is authorized and directed—
(1) to initiate and support basic scientific research and programs to strengthen scientific
research potential and science education programs at all levels in the mathematical, physical,
medical, biological, social, and other sciences, and to initiate and support research
fundamental to the engineering process and programs to strengthen engineering research
potential and engineering education programs at all levels in the various fields of
engineering, by making contracts or other arrangements (including grants, loans, and other
forms of assistance) to support such scientific, engineering, and educational activities and to
appraise the impact of research upon industrial development and upon the general welfare;
(2) to award, as provided in section 1869 of this title, scholarships and graduate fellowships for
study and research in the sciences or in engineering;
(3) to foster the interchange of scientific and engineering information among scientists and
engineers in the United States and foreign countries;
(4) to foster and support the development and use of computer and other scientific and
engineering methods and technologies, primarily for research and education in the sciences
and engineering;
(5) to evaluate the status and needs of the various sciences and fields of engineering as
evidenced by programs, projects, and studies undertaken by agencies of the Federal
Government, by individuals, and by public and private research groups, employing by grant
or contract such consulting services as it may deem necessary for the purpose of such
evaluations; and to take into consideration the results of such evaluations in correlating the
research and educational programs undertaken or supported by the Foundation with
programs, projects, and studies undertaken by agencies of the Federal Government, by
individuals, and by public and private research groups;
(6) to provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on
scientific and engineering resources and to provide a source of information for policy
formulation by other agencies of the Federal Government;
(7) to initiate and maintain a program for the determination of the total amount of money for
scientific and engineering research, including money allocated for the construction of the
facilities wherein such research is conducted, received by each educational institution and
appropriate nonprofit organization in the United States, by grant, contract, or other
arrangement from agencies of the Federal Government, and to report annually thereon to the
President and the Congress; and
(8) to take a leading role in fostering and supporting research and education activities to
improve the security of networked information systems.

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BIENNIAL REPORT (42 U.S.C. §1885d)
§ 1885d. Biennial reports
(a) By January 30, 1982, and biennially thereafter, the Director shall simultaneously transmit
a report to the Congress, the Attorney General, the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, the Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of
Education, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(b) The report required by subsection (a) of this section shall contain—
(1) an accounting and comparison, by sex, race, and ethnic group and by discipline, of the
participation of women and men in scientific and engineering positions, including—
(A) the number of individuals in permanent and temporary and in full-time and part-time
scientific and engineering positions by appropriate level or similar category;
(B) the average salary of individuals in such scientific and engineering positions;
(C) the number and type of promotional opportunities realized by individuals in such
scientific and engineering positions;
(D) the number of individuals serving as principal investigators in federally conducted or
federally supported research and development; and
(E) the unemployment rate of individuals seeking scientific and engineering positions;
(2) an assessment, including quantitative and other data, of the proportion of women and
minorities studying scientific and engineering fields, including mathematics and computer
skills, at all educational levels; and
(3) such other data, analyses, and evaluations as the Director, acting on the advice of the
Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, determines appropriate to
carry out the Foundation’s functions as well as the policies and programs of sections 1885 to
1885d of this title.

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