News From the Field Predicting If Scientists Will Be Stars
September 12, 2012 Will a young scientist's career be brilliant
or ordinary? Now there's a crystal ball in the form of a new
formula that accurately predicts a young scientist's success up
to 10 years into the future and could be useful for hiring,
tenure and funding decisions. The new formula is more than twice
as accurate as a measure called the "h index" for predicting
future success for researchers in the life sciences. The
National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal
agency that supports fundamental research and education across
all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012,
its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states
through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other
institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive
requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards.
NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service
contracts yearly. Get News Upda