NSF-ARI program

William Stevens (wstevens@c-mols.siu.edu)
Thu, 11 Nov 1993 09:09:36 -0600 (CST)

On November 6 I attended the 24th annual Chicago Area NMR Discussion Group.
During a coffee break, I was speaking with someone who should certainly be
"in the know" about such things who told me that the $100 million appropri-
ated for facilities and instrumentation in the NSF budget coming out of
conference committee was not necessarily such a good thing. (This was double
the previous year's allottment.)

This money would undoubtedly go to NSF's Academic Research Infrastructure
program. I was told that awards from that program are made "at a high
administrative level" and I was given to understand that, despite the
peer review process, the awards are often bad choices (an expensive
facility in a place where NMR achievement has not been shown, for instance)
resulting from political influence.

This sounds no better than earmarking. Anybody else have any poop on it?

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Bill Stevens NMR Facility voice:618-453-6498
Director Southern Illinois University fax-6408
Carbondale, IL 62901
U.S.A.

wstevens@c-mols.siu.edu
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