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DARPA Says Funding to Universities Rising

Posted on: Thursday, 12 May 2005, 18:00 CDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Pentagon has not cut funds for university studies of fundamental science and technology in favor of projects with more of an immediate impact to the military, the director of the Defense Department's research agency said Thursday.

The statement countered criticism from computer scientists who complained their funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects agency has been reduced at the same time the agency seems to be focusing more on near-term research projects.

In the past, military-funded basic research at universities has led - eventually - to the Internet, databases and other new computer technologies. Critics fear that the military's shift from "blue sky" research would undermine the nation's technological leadership.

"There has been no decision to divert resources," DARPA Director Tony Tether said in prepared testimony before the House Science Committee in Washington, D.C.

The congressional hearing was prompted by the scientists' complaints and reports that the National Science Foundation has seen a sharp increase in grant requests.

"We need to continue to follow our recipe for success," said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, the committee's chairman and a New York Republican.

Tether said DARPA, which was founded in 1958 in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite, has not changed its focus.

But, he added, some specific academic fields will see DARPA funding vary because the agency takes a multidisciplinary approach when deciding which projects to fund. Specific disciplines also will see funding levels change as projects move to more advanced stages.

"This change, while occasionally discomforting, is very healthy," he said.

DARPA's overall basic research funding to universities has been increasing both in actual dollars and as a percentage of the agency's budget since 1999. All basic research funding has more than tripled, from $54.9 million in fiscal 1999 to $169.9 million in 2005, Tether said.

But computer scientists note that money directed at their field for basic and more advanced research rose from $546 million in fiscal 2001 to $583 million in 2005. At the same time, the cut given to universities has fallen from $214 million to $123 million.

"The complaints ... never clearly identify the specific research that is not being done, the problems that are not being solved, or the progress that is impeded as a result of decreased funding in the discipline," he said.

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Scientists Complain About Pentagon Cuts

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On the Net:

House Science Committee: http://www.house.gov/science  

DARPA: http://www.darpa.mil

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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