Proposed Tweaks to NSF Peer Review Spur Tensions

摘要

A yearlong, behind-the-scenes fight between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and congressional Republicans over how to make sure that NSF's vaunted peer-review system is funding research in the national interest finally went public last week. The venue was a hearing before the House of Representatives science committee on draft legislation that would alter NSF's current practices. And while everyone was on their best behavior, the exchanges between outside scientists and legislators did little to assuage the fears of many researchers that the bill would erode a time-tested system for awarding grants. At the same time, NSF and the committee's chair, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), continue to search for common ground.