The next 120 days might have scientists feeling a little over-stimulated—especially if they have a research proposal on file with the National Science Foundation.
According to a report in the New York Times, NSF plans to hand out nearly all of its $2 billion stimulus package funds earmarked for research grants in the next four months. That money—equal to nearly a third of last year’s NSF budget—will be used to fund a larger proportion of proposals now under review and offer reprieves to deserving projects from previous years that were nixed because of a lack of funds. The Foundation will release more details on how it will spend its stimulus funds in the next week, according to the report.
Along with the research funds, NSF will also receive $1 million for education programs and $4 million for research equipment and facility construction, according to a list of who’s getting what out of the stimulus package at ProPublica.