Federal Government

The DoD is composed of The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All of which are the armed forces of the United States. The Army National Guard and the Air National Guard are reserve components of their services and operate in part under state authority.

The Defense Department has 11 combatant commands, each with a geographic or functional mission that provides command and control of military forces in peace and war.

NOAA is an agency that enriches life through science. Their reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as they work to keep the public informed of the changing environment around them.

ED’s 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to: Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education and distributing as well as monitoring those funds; Collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research; Focusing national attention on key educational issues; and Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.

At its 20 centers and facilities across the country – and the only National Laboratory in space – NASA studies Earth, including its climate, our Sun, and our solar system and beyond. They conduct research, testing, and development to advance aeronautics, including electric propulsion and supersonic flight. They develop and fund space technologies that will enable future exploration and benefit life on Earth.

The NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.

Their goals are: To foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies, and their applications as a basis for ultimately protecting and improving health; To develop, maintain, and renew scientific human and physical resources that will ensure the Nation’s capability to prevent disease; To expand the knowledge base in medical and associated sciences in order to enhance the Nation’s economic well-being and ensure a continued high return on the public investment in research; and To exemplify and promote the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility in the conduct of science. In realizing these goals, the NIH provides leadership and direction to programs designed to improve the health of the Nation by conducting and supporting many different avenues of research.

Thanks in large part to NIH-funded medical research, Americans today are living longer and healthier. Life expectancy in the United States has jumped from 47 years in 1900 to 78 years as reported in 2009, and disability in people over age 65 has dropped dramatically in the past 3 decades. In recent years, nationwide rates of new diagnoses and deaths from all cancers combined have fallen significantly.

The Institution was founded in 1846 with funds from the Englishman James Smithson (1765–1829) according to his wishes “under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” This wish directs the mission of the Smithsonian to this day.

NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to: Promote the progress of science; Advance the national health, prosperity and welfare; and Secure the national defense.

They fulfill their mission chiefly by making grants. Their investments account for about 25% of federal support to America’s colleges and universities for basic research: research driven by curiosity and discovery. They also support solutions-oriented research with the potential to produce advancements for the American people.

To accomplish this mission, OSTP: Provides advice to the President and the Executive Office of the President on all matters related to science and technology; Stewards the creation of bold visions, unified strategies, clear plans, wise policies, and effective, equitable programs for science and technology, working with departments and agencies across the Federal government and with Congress; Engages with external partners, including industry, academia, philanthropic organizations, and civil society; state, local, Tribal and territorial governments; and other nations; and Works to ensure inclusion and integrity in all aspects of science and technology.

They aim to ensure that science and technology best serve the country, that all Americans can participate in and benefit from science and technology, and that any policy developed is science-driven, and based on evidence, exploration, open-mindedness, rigor, honesty, and scientific integrity.

NRL has had a long and fruitful relationship with industry as a collaborator, contractor, and through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) which it continues to develop. NRL is an important link in the Navy Research, Development, and Acquisition (RD&A) chain. Through NRL, the Navy has direct ties with sources of fundamental ideas in industry and the academic community throughout the world and provides an effective coupling point to the R&D chain for ONR.

NRL is a Navy Working Capital Fund activity, which means it is not a line-item in the U.S. Federal Budget. Instead of direct funding from Congress, all costs, including overhead, are redeemed through sponsor-funded research projects. Funding sources include the Chief of Naval Research, Naval Systems Commands, and other government agencies, such as the U.S. Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as several non-governmental activities.

ONR’s investments have enabled many firsts, including one of the earliest digital computers and the first programming language; the first satellite navigation system; advanced radar; powerful shipboard lasers; and the electromagnetic railgun. They aim to continue leading the way in fields such as autonomy, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and more, to ensure America always has the Navy the nation needs.

Its Science directors promote collaboration with international scientists, and science advisors identify fleet/force needs and implement technology solutions. Both serve as the chief of naval research’s science ambassadors abroad.

ONR Global also sponsors programs – exchange visits, conferences and workshops, seed funding – that foster collaboration between Navy personnel, scientists and technologists around the world.