SENATORS SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE $350,000 IN FORESTRY RESEARCH FUNDING FOR UMAINE

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe and U.S. Senator Susan Collins today announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of Maine $350,000 for forestry research. The funded project is under the direction of Robert Wagner, the Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor in Forestry.

"This funding will greatly assist with research into advanced forestry practices," Senators Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare;" With an annual budget of about $5.5 billion, NSF is the chief funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing.