National Science Foundation funded 2009 Nobel laureates felicitated

NSF funding in basic research yields great payoffs in scientific contributions worldwide

The National Science Foundation (NSF) congratulates the 2009 Nobel laureates, particularly those who have received NSF funding over the years: Jack W. Szostak, who shared the prize in physiology or medicine; Thomas A. Steitz, who shared the prize in chemistry; and Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson who earned the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel 2009.

"Through a highly competitive, merit-based system, NSF is in the business of identifying raw scientific talent early, funding promising research and fueling discovery," said Arden L. Bement, Jr., NSF director. "This year's Nobel Prize recipients embody the investment of America and of the NSF in talented and hardworking researchers whose contributions improve the global future for society and mankind."

Now a total of 187 U.S. and U.S.-based researchers have had their research pursuits funded by NSF earlier in their careers, before their research became widely recognized and they became Nobel laureates.