The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a United States government agency that supports basic research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health.
The NSF was created in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; [and] to secure the national defense.” With an annual budget of about US$7.0 billion (fiscal year 2020), it is the funding source for approximately 24% of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.
The current director of the NSF is Sethuraman Panchanathan. The agency has its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.