On June 9, I wrote in this blog about the Endless Frontier Act. It has come to my attention that my post may seem critical, and not enthusiastic about the bill. To the contrary, the bill is a tremendous show of support for mathematicians (and all scientific) researchers at universities. It is notable that a bipartisan group of congressional members are backing a bill that sees universities as critical—and central—partners in staying competitive globally (MIT President Rafael Reif has written about this in The Hill).
In the last section of my June 9 post, I attempted to describe what I think would be concerns in the math community about the bill and to explain that these concerns have been addressed by congressional staff leading the bill. In particular, the bill would not alter the mission, operation, or funding of the existing NSF directorates. The bill will continue to be refined as part of the Congressional process, and I—together with my counterparts in DC—will be working to further strengthen the protections for NSF’s current programs while supporting the proposed expansion.
