federal r&d spending sets record
TRANSCRIPT
Federal Obligations for Research and Development
i Deph of Defense
~*^'
1 0 0 150 Λ2Ο0 250
Distribution of the Federal Dollar
Profit Organizat ions 38c
Educational Institutions
15c
within Federal Government
44c
Federal R&D Spending Sets Record Research in b io log ica l sciences showed largest increase in funds; physical sciences aïso rose
1 HE FEDERAL R&D budget for fiscal 1958 was a record S3.4 billion. This represents an increase of 13 ' · over the 1957 expenditure of $3.0 billion, says the National Science Foundation in its latest report on the government research budget. Expenditures ior 1959 are expected to go up another S' < .
The most significant growth in basic research was in the biological sciences. which increased 2 3 ' / over 1957 (C&EN. Nov. 25, 1957, page 48) . Total obligations for the physical sciences rose about 12 '^ .
As in fiscal 1957, the Defense Department and the Atomic Energy Commission took an overwhelmingly large slice of the budget, accounting for S3'* of the funds. DOD and AEC plus six other agencies—Departments of Health. Education, and Welfare; Agriculture: Interior; Commerce; National Science Foundation; and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (now the National Aeronautics and Space Administration )—spent 99'* of the entire federal R&D budget. These figures and
percentages a re actual payment for services and goods. In addition. D O D spent another $900 million in 1958 to support research and development.
• Research Breakdown. The biggest chunk of the federal R&l) do l la r -44'<~is spent within the Government itself. This represents a decrease of 4'< from fiscal 1957. Almost SI.2 billion, or 32 ' , of the R&D dollar, .vent to profit organizations. One fourth of that amount went to industry-operated research centers under contract with the Department of Defense or the Atomic Energy Commission. The report points out that the S 1.2 billion does not include DOD funds which go to profit organizations tor engineering-type production and procurement. If this were considered, the total would be $2.0 billion.
Educational institutions received onlv 15''—$400 million—of the funds. This is only 1 ' Ί higher than the allotment in fiscal 1957. The major share of this obligation—about 69r<—was carried bv DOD and AEC. In addition
to these two agencies. Agriculture; \ S F ; and Health. Education, and Welfare, each contributed S23 million to educational institutions.
The remaining S105 million went to nonprofit research groups, philanthropic institutions, health agencies, state governments, and foreign and international organizations.
• Kow Funds Are Spent. Almost two thirds of the R&D dollar was spent for development; about 35 ' < was spent for research, both applied and basic. Basic research accounted for only S' * of the research dollar, about S259 million. This is an increase of 2 3 ' < over the amount spent in 1957. although on percentage bases, the amounts an» the same-about S'/ of the federal R&D dollar for 1957 was spent on basic research.
Of all the agencies, only the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution support only projects in basic research. AEC and the Department of Labor spent over 50'> of their research obligations in basic ι esearch.
According to the report, the Government's tendency is to emphasize the most "practical uses of science." This is borne out by the fact that engineering sciences receive about 65 '^ of funds spent for physical sciences. •
DEC. I. 1958 C & E N 4 1
new advances in Zirconium Chemistry.!
new advances in Zirconium Chemistry.!