Federal Funding of Astronomical Research (2000)

In Figure 2.2 in Chapter 2, overall funding data for 1981 to 1985 are taken from the 1991 Decadal Report, adjusted via the standard inflation factors to FY 1997. Data for 1986 to 1999 are taken from R. Konkel's (NRC contractor) spreadsheets. For the period from 1986 to 1989, the agreement between the 1991 Decadal Report and Konkel is in the 2 to 4 percent range.

In Figure 2.3, NSF funding, data for 1981 to 1985 are again taken from the 1991 Decadal Report; data for 1986 to 1999 are taken from R. Konkel's spreadsheets. For the period from 1986 to 1989, the agreement between the two sets of numbers is good, better than 1 percent.

In Figure 2.4, NSF grant funding data for 1981 to 1987 are taken from the 1991 Decadal Report. For the years 1988 to 1997, data are from Konkel: the number of grants is estimated as the number of new awards multiplied by the mean new award duration averaged over the three previous years. The rationale for this approach is that the grants are of roughly three-year duration and have to be smoothed.

In Figure 2.5 , the NASA astronomy budget data for 1981 to 1985 are from the 1991 Decadal Report; data for 1986 to 1999 are from Konkel. Much of the earlier material appeared in the 1998 Space Studies Board report Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis.

Astronomy doctorate production and graduate enrollment figures are taken from the AIP Enrollments and Degrees Report (Patrick J. Mulvey and Starr Nicholson, Enrollments and Degrees Report, AIP Publication No. R-151.35, American Institute of Physics, College Park, Maryland, 2000) and from the AAS report on Graduate Education (Stephen Strom et al., “The American Astronomical Society's Examination of Graduate Education in Astronomy, ” Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, volume 29 (1997), page 1426). Figures for 1988 to 1998 are from the Enrollments and Degrees Report. Note that one of the problems inherent in an effort like this is that when there is an overlap in coverage, both sources agree qualitatively but not quantitatively—there is some interpretation of what constitutes a doctorate in astronomy or astrophysics, especially when the doctorate is granted by a joint physics and astronomy department. Enrollment numbers for 1985 to 1987 are scaled from the AAS report to the AIP mean by the AIP/AAS ratio for the years with overlap. The actual figures and estimates are shown in Table G.1.

For the data used in Figure 4.3 Figure 4.5 to Figure 4.6, Chapter 4, the number of papers published per year showed a considerable increase over the period studied, with two anomalies caused by changes in the number of issues per month: The Astrophysical Journal changed between 1989 and 1992, while Monthly Notices changed between 1995 and 1997. To remove this effect, the committee presents all results as fractions of the total for that year.

For Table 5.7, Chapter 5, figures for the NASA R&A budget are from Guenther Riegler at NASA headquarters and were compiled by Board on Physics and Astronomy program officer Joel Parriott.

Overall DOE astrophysics funding data are from Jim Stone in the program office at DOE HEP. They do not include nuclear physics spending on programs that are astrophysics related.