Editing National Science Foundation (section)

==Criticism==
In May 2011, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]  Senator [[Tom Coburn]] released a 73-page report, "[[National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope]]",<ref name="senate"/><ref name="senate6"/> receiving immediate attention from such media outlets as ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Fox News]], and [[MSNBC]].<ref name="Sen. Coburn Sets Sight on Waste, Duplication at Science Agency"/><ref name="Senate Report Finds Billions In Waste On Science Foundation Studies"/><ref name="Cosmic Log - Funny science sparks serious spat"/> The report found fault with various research projects and was critical of the social sciences. It started a controversy about political bias and a Congressional Inquiry into federally sponsored research. In 2014, Republicans proposed a bill to limit the NSF Board's authority in grant-writing.

In 2013, the NSF had funded the work of Mark Carey at [[University of Oregon]] with a $412,930 grant, which included a study concerning gender in glaciological research. After its January 2016 release, the NSF drew criticism for alleged misuse of funding.<ref>Carolyn Gramling [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/qa-author-feminist-geology-study-reflects-sudden-place Q&A: Author of 'feminist glaciology' study reflects on sudden appearance in culture wars] March 11, 2016, retrieved July 12, 2017</ref><ref>Paul Basken [http://www.chronicle.com/article/US-House-Backs-New-Bid-to/235275?cid=at&elq=dc92d68109c54901a4e9bd3e0cd5386b&elqCampaignId=2420&elqaid=7858&elqat=1&elqTrackId=4e3082d7c03344d2ba9665c180ac441b U.S. House Backs New Bid to Require 'National Interest' Certification for NSF Grants] February 11, 2016, retrieved July 12, 2017</ref>

Some historians of science have argued that the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 was an unsatisfactory compromise between too many clashing visions of the purpose and scope of the federal government.<ref name="technology" /> The NSF was certainly not ''the'' primary government agency for the funding of basic science, as its supporters had originally envisioned in the aftermath of [[World War II]]. By 1950, support for major areas of research had already become dominated by specialized agencies such as the [[National Institutes of Health]] (medical research) and the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|U.S. Atomic Energy Commission]] (nuclear and particle physics). That pattern would continue after 1957 when U.S. anxiety over the launch of [[Sputnik]] led to the creation of the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (space science) and the [[DARPA|Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (defense-related research).