Federal Support for Basic Research

It is important to realize that significant technological progress, which has provided us with a steadily increasing life quality and expectation, is the long-term payoff of basic research support by federal funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation. We all recognize that the present time is one of tough economic decisions in the government, which has resulted in significant cutbacks and program eliminations in agencies such as the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Concerned for the future well-being of fellow Americans and all humans, the U.S. scientific community would like to convey to the public their conviction that funding fundamental research is not an unnecessary luxury or a past-time activity of wealth-spoiled nations. On the contrary, it is the necessary prerequisite for a long-term survival of a highly developed society such as ours.

It is my pleasure to acknowledge past financial support of my own research in novel materials, ranging from carbon "buckyballs" and nanotubes to airplane wings with increased resistance to cracking and a novel medication delivery technique for cancer drugs.

This research had been funded by the

  • National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Office of Naval Research (ONR)
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

    under the proposal titles

  • "Electronic and Structural Properties of Atomic Clusters"
    (P.I.'s David Tomanek and George F. Bertsch) -- NSF
  • "First Principles Theory of the Interaction of Hydrogen with Surfaces and Bulk of Transition Metals"
    (P.I. David Tomanek) -- ONR
  • "Pseudo-Buckyballs" as New Potential Superconductors"
    (P.I.'s James Dye, James E. Jackson, David Tomanek) -- AFOSR

    ... back to David Tomanek's home page
    David Tomanek at Michigan State University / tomanek@pa.msu.edu