New Budget Boosts Funds For Science

President Carter's proposed budget for 1980 increases basic scientific research funding by about 9 per cent, a rise which could make more research money available to Harvard professors.

"A rise in support of this kind of research is surely going to be beneficial to Harvard and institutions like it," George C. Pimentel, deputy director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, said yesterday.

No specific figures are available on how much additional money Harvard might receive, since federal agencies award research grants individually during the year.

But Pimentel said the budget's emphasis on basic science rather than other types of research would benefit most research-oriented universities.

Prior Consent

Congress must approve the proposed budget before it takes effect, and may modify part or all of it.

The budget increases the NSF's funding from $911 million to about $1 billion and provides for additional research on human nutrition and the environment, sub-micron science, and laser chemistry.

"Harvard has led the field of laser research and would probably benefit from increased funding in the area, Harvey Brooks, Pierce Professor of Technology and Public Policy, said yesterday.

Robert H. Scott, director of financial systems, said yesterday it was impossible to predict how Carter's budget would affect Harvard research money. "Just because the national total goes up doesn't mean that Harvard's goes up," he said.

"We still have to persuade Congress of the wisdom of the president's proposals," Pimentel said. He called the research allocations "a long-range investment in the future of the country at a time when the government is tightening its belt."