Norm Augustine Supports NSF Funding
BETHESDA, MD, 07-FEB-00 -- Press Statement by Norman R. Augustine, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Lockheed Martin Corporation Board of Directors and Member, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology The Administration's proposal to increase funding for the National Science Foundation comes not a moment too soon. Scientists and engineers in almost every field are close to new discoveries that could transform the way we live and work, and sustain our current prosperity well into the future. We should seize this opportunity to strengthen U.S. leadership in science and technology.
There can be little doubt that advances in science and technology have fueled the current economic expansion. Over the years, the National Science Foundation's public investments in basic research-across all disciplines in science, engineering and mathematics-have laid the foundation for the most dynamic and innovative science and technology enterprise in the world.
Investing in people is just as important as investing in ideas. The National Science Foundation has supported generation after generation of the young scientists and engineers who train in our university and college research laboratories. Increased funding would boost this support and help build the highly skilled workforce required in the new knowledge-based economy.
If the recent past is a guide, some these young scientists and engineers will assure that America's established companies remain strong. Others will launch the start-up companies that will help fire economic progress well into the future. And some will be the Nobel laureates of the 21st Century. That's a winning proposition for the Nation-one we can be proud of and one that deserves our support.
