FY 1990: Big Bucks For Big Science

The budget pledges more money for science, but whether this will translate into support for individual scientists remains.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--For scientists who depend on funds from NSF and NIH, one important implication of President Reagan's final budget is a new emphasis on raising the size of individual grants. But it's not all good news: The budget, barring radical surgery by Congress, may fund fewer new grants than might be expected. And Reagan's desire to spend more on interdisciplinary centers and other types of "big" science has done little to erase worries that individual scientists in some areas of research could be left out in the cold.

Overall, Reagan's budget once again reflects his support for science. It requests a 14% rise in funding for NSF, 5.3% more for NIH (including a 25% hike in AIDS research), 9% more for the space science and applications portion of the NASA budget, and...