Findings and Recommendations - Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science - page 102

Recommendation: The I&F program should encourage its user
communities to identify research priorities and develop a consensus
regarding how many laboratories are needed and how their operational
costs should be apportioned among the EAR core programs, the I&F
program, and participating academic institutions.
After initial instrument commissioning, it may be appropriate to encourage
technician support as a routine cost of ongoing research projects rather than
through specific I&F grants for technician support. The issue is complex because
it involves a deeply rooted aspect of the culture—individual laboratories—that
many investigators view as the heart of innovation in their field. It also has an
obvious bearing on the continued flow of vigorous young investigators into these
fields.
EDUCATION
The debate on many of the social issues facing our nation and the world
benefits from increased scientific literacy in the general population. In turn,
science benefits from a population that understands the nature of scientific inquiry
and its value to society. As described in Chapter 1 , the most pressing societal
issues (e.g., resource sustainability, mitigating natural hazards, managing the
environment) have an Earth science component. Thus, knowledge of the Earth
sciences must be part of the background of every informed person.
NSF has reaffirmed science education, along with basic research, as an
agency priority. Indeed, NSF funds research in part because it results in the best
possible environment for higher-level education. The research-based education
approach as exemplified by U.S. research universities has been so successful that
it is being used as a model for restructuring universities in other countries,
particularly in Europe and Japan. Research-based education is funded mainly
through NSF-wide initiatives and the science directorates. The Directorate for
Education and Human Resources, on the other hand, focuses on the science of
education—teaching and learning.
A 1996 workshop 26 challenged the Geosciences Directorate to promote
vigorously educational activities within its research program and to enhance its
partnership with EHR, beginning with helping geoscientists understand
26 Geoscience Education: A Recommended Strategy, results of a workshop held in
Arlington, Virginia, August 29-30, 1996. The report outlines a strategy for improving
outreach to teachers and other communities, enhancing university-level training with
emphasis on links to nonresearch needs, and facilitating the educational value of ongoing
programs ranging from research consortia to undergraduate institutions.