New National Science Foundation Directorate to Advance Emerging Technology

The CHIPS and Science Act of the National Science Foundation provides a major authorization of up to $81 billion in funding the agency over five years. The new funds include broad support for NSF’s early-stage research that will create revolutionary new ideas, including in areas such as the food-energy-water nexus, risk and resilience, critical minerals, and a host of other areas, as well as for expanded STEM education support activities. 

The bill is the culmination of a multi-year effort to significantly increase strategic technology and research investments in the United States, flowing initially from a bipartisan proposal by Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Todd Young (IN) to dramatically expand NSF funding with a $100 billion authorization proposal directing most funding to emerging technology development efforts. The compromise final bill provides up to $20 billion for a new NSF-run Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), which will accelerate domestic development of national and economic-security critical technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, 6G communications, energy, and material science. According to the House Science Committee, the bill increases overall funding for the agency (minus the new directorate) by $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2023, to $10 billion, and grows at an average annual rate of 8 percent, to $13.8 billion in fiscal year 2027.
 
The bill authorizes a total of $13 billion in funding for STEM education, including scholarships, fellowships, and traineeships to create workers in critical fields, and also seeks to establish an artificial intelligence scholarship-for-service program, a national network for microelectronics education, and cybersecurity workforce development programs. The bill also advances diversity, equity, and inclusion by codifying the NSF INCLUDES program, establishing a Chief Diversity Officer position, and supporting research and reform efforts to identify and remove barriers to equity for STEM faculty and undergraduate STEM students.
 
For a detailed breakdown of the CHIPS and Science Act’s "NSF For the Future” authorization, visit: https://science.house.gov/imo/media/doc/NSF.pdf