BY THE NUMBERSARIZONA IN FY 2012

$157 Million: NSF funds awarded 13th: National ranking in NSF funds

26: NSF-funded institutions 496: NSF grants awarded

10: NSF research centers/facilities

EXAMPLES OF NSF-FUNDED RESEARCH IN ARIZONA

A team of investigators from the University of Arizona has developed mathematical tools to model the natural forces that reshape shorelines. Their work offers a powerful new technique to predict the effects of storms and the action of water along the coast.

An NSF-supported research team at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute has discovered new insights into the mechanism of photosynthesis. Their findings could contribute to the development of organic solar cells, which are of commercial interest because of their relatively low cost compared to traditional silicon solar cells.

Courtesy: www.research.gov/seeinnovation

In 2011, the biotechnology company Roche announced an agreement to license several DNA sequencing technologies developed by researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute.3

There are over 100,000 scientists and engineers in Arizona’s workforce.2

INVESTMENT IN NSF = INVESTMENT IN ARIZONA INNOVATION

1 UA Tech Park’s Economic Impact Report (2010).2 NSF Science and Engineering Indicators (2010).3 ASU News [Science & Tech] (2011).

The University of Arizona Science and Technology Park contributes nearly $3 billion annually to Pima County’s economy and is one of the region’s largest employment centers.1

Thirty-four patents were awarded to academic institutions in Arizona in 2006.2

Academic institutions in Arizona spent $831 million on research and development activities in 2008.2

Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) 1527 Eighteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cnsfweb.org

ArizonaTHE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering.

“The most recent ten-year employment projections by the U.S. Labor Department show that of the 20 fastest growing occupations projected for 2014, 15 of them require significant mathematics or science preparations to successfully compete for a job.”

−Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

With support from NSF's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, a research team at the University of Arizona has developed new head-mounted display technologies for use by surgeons during medical procedures. The improved image projection may also have useful applications for training and education, engineering, and entertainment.

Arizona

Through NSF’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, four undergraduates and three teachers spent a summer in Thailand to study solar energy materials. Participants cite their experience conducting research in foreign countries as a major influence on their knowledge of laboratory settings, and one of the program's participants went on to receive the 2007 State of Arizona Best Science Teachers of the Year award.

Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) 1527 Eighteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cnsfweb.org

NSF-funded researchers at Arizona State University are working to better understand the factors that contribute to science teacher attrition rates. Their study documents the development of 120 beginning secondary teachers over a three year time span.

Courtesy: www.research.gov/seeinnovation

Since 1952, NSF has supported 45,000 graduate students through research fellowships.

Arizona received $20 million in NSF educational and human resource funding in FY 2012.

“Our faculty are conducting amazing research at the frontier of knowledge…Our innovative, interdisciplinary collaborations span the University’s academic and research disciplines.”

−University of Arizona President Dr. Eugene G. Sander

“…during the past six years our research enterprise more than doubled its expenditures, surpassing the $300 million level for the first time in FY 2009. Estimates for FY 2010 expenditures exceed $370 million…To provide some perspective on the momentum of the trajectory, ASU conducted no significant funded research prior to 1980.”

−Arizona State University President Dr. Michael M. Crow

EXAMPLES OF NSF-FUNDED EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN ARIZONA

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) annually awards approximately2,000 three-year fellowships to outstanding graduate students pursuing advanced degrees inscience, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Past recipients of NSF GRFP awards have gone on to become leading scientists and Nobel Prize winners.

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) not only funds cutting-edge research at institutions across the country; NSF’s education initiatives ensure the U.S. will remain a global leader in innovation for generations to come.