About the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense." With an annual budget of about $5.5 billion, they are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.
They fulfill their mission chiefly by issuing limited-term grants – currently about 10,000 new awards per year, with an average duration of three years – to fund specific research proposals that have been judged the most promising by a rigorous and objective merit-review system. Most of these awards go to individuals or small groups of investigators. Others provide funding for research centers, instruments and facilities that allow scientists, engineers and students to work at the outermost frontiers of knowledge. NSF's goal is to support the people, ideas and tools that together make discovery possible.
For more detailed information on NSF, please visit their website: www.nsf.gov
About the German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is the German national agency for the support of international academic cooperation. They offer programs and funding for students, faculty, researchers and others in higher education. They also represent the German higher education system abroad, promote Germany as an academic and research destination, and help build ties between institutions around the world.
The DAAD was founded in 1925 by the German student Carl Joachim Friedrich who was able to obtain 13 fellowships from the Institute of International Education for Germans in the social sciences to study in the US. From these early beginnings – and with a re-founding of the organization after World War II – the DAAD currently awards more than 65,000 fellowships a year and is the largest grantor of international academic mobility support in the world. Based in Bonn, DAAD now plays important roles in furthering the international aspects of German academic, cultural, and science policies; supporting the international relations of German colleges and universities through international exchange and programs; and maintaining a worldwide network of offices, guest professors, and alumni who offer information and assistance on a local level.
For more detailed information on DAAD, please visit their website: www.daad.org
