Findings and Recommendations - Basic Research Opportunities in Earth Science - page 107

however, owing to structural problems among the participating agencies and
scientific communities, as well as practical management issues. 32
Partnerships Within NSF
As noted in this chapter and described in Appendix A , programs potentially
suitable for funding certain aspects of the research opportunities already exist
elsewhere within NSF, particularly in the Biological Sciences Directorate
(geobiology and microorganisms in the environment), Ocean Sciences Division
(geobiology, shoreline aspects of the Critical Zone, offshore components of
EarthScope), Astronomical Science Division (planetary science), Materials
Research Division (Earth and planetary materials), and Atmospheric Sciences
Division (Critical Zone). In some cases, individual Earth scientists will be able to
take advantage of these existing programs, but individual successes in programs
external to EAR are not sufficient to mount the strong Earth science efforts
envisaged in this report. The committee observes that interdivisional partnerships
are most effective when backed by well-defined scientific communities within
each of the participating NSF divisions, from which proposals can be solicited
and membership drawn for topical workshops and proposal review panels. If
enacted, the committee's recommendations regarding core programs will help to
franchise several disciplinary communities within EAR, including geobiology,
Earth and planetary materials, soil science, and coastal zone studies. With
improved core support, these communities will be better organized to participate
in inter-divisional programs.
Disciplinary organization within the EAR framework, including the
identification of active program managers with responsibilities to specific
research communities, is particularly important for effective participation in the
NSF-wide crosscutting and interdisciplinary programs. EAR is formally
associated with three of these interdirectorate initiatives: ESH, EGB, and LExEn
(see Box A.2 ). However, as noted elsewhere in this report, there is great
potential for significant participation by Earth scientists in at least three other
initiatives: the interagency National Nanotechnology Initiative, Biocomplexity in
the Environment, and Information Technology for the Twenty-First Century
(IT 2 ). 33 The
32 Some of the generic problems associated with federal support of interdisciplinary
research are summarized by N. Metzger and R.N. Zare ( Science, v. 283, p. 642-643,
1999).
33 The multiagency IT 2 initiative is aimed at pushing the envelope for research and
development in information technology, including software, information technology
education and work force, human-computer interface, and information management, see
http://www.ccic.gov/it2/ .