sciences. Note that a small fraction (about 2 percent) of the SAO research support is derived from the Smithsonian's endowment and private funds.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder jointly support JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics. The senior scientific staff (or fellows) of JILA hold either faculty appointments at the university or civil service appointments at NIST. A decade ago there were several NIST positions in astrophysics, but these are no longer supported because of a change in the mission of NIST. Astrophysics continues to be supported from the university side, and NIST continues to maintain a gravitational physics program.