National Science Foundation

U.S. National Science Foundation

Seal of the U.S. National Science Foundation
Agency overview
Formed	May 10, 1950; 74 years ago (1950-05-10)
Headquarters	2415 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.[1]
Motto	Where Discoveries Begin[2]
Employees	1700
Annual budget	$8.28 billion for 2020[3]
Agency executives	Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director Vacant, Deputy Director Karen A. Marrongelle, Chief Operating Officer Brian Stone, Chief of Staff Linnea Avallone, Chief Officer of Research Facilities Terry Carpenter, Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Website	nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $9.9 billion (fiscal year 2023), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities.^[4][5] In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the National Science Board (NSB)^[6] do not require U.S. Senate confirmation. The director and deputy director are responsible for administration, planning, budgeting and day-to-day operations of the foundation, while the NSB meets six times a year to establish its overall policies. The current NSF director is Sethuraman Panchanathan.