April 6, 2009

President Barack Obama

The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the nation’s business, scientific, and higher education communities, we wish to commend you and your
Administration for the extraordinary leadership you have shown in advancing the nation’s investment in basic research,
particularly research in the physical sciences and engineering. Working with a Congress that shares this priority, you have
taken critical steps that will build long-term economic growth, address the nation’s most significant challenges, and maintain
our nation’s global edge in technology and innovation.

We are especially pleased with the attention to research, as well as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education, in the two appropriations measures you have already signed into law – the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act and the Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY09. The Recovery Act makes significant one-time investments in the National
Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), as well as other vital research agencies, that will create jobs over the next two years, assist our efforts to
address our energy and climate challenges, and lay the foundation for our nation’s long-term innovation, global
competitiveness, and economic growth. The FY09 bill also includes significant resources for these and other agencies, an
important step toward our mutual goal of significant, sustainable, and predictable annual increases for basic research funding.

While we await the details of your FY10 budget, we are pleased that the outline you announced last month signals a strong
continuing investment in NSF and in DOE basic science. We anticipate that you will also propose in your complete budget to
continue to strengthen the nation’s investment in NIST as well as basic research at the Department of Defense.

Mr. President, we recognize the challenges our nation faces are more serious than those faced by any new President in recent
history. We are confident that investments in science will result in new discoveries and innovations that can address many of
these challenges. And we stand ready to work with you and the Congress to keep our nation on this path.

Sincerely

Craig Barrett Shirley Tilghman Richard K. Templeton

Chairman President, Princeton University and AAU Chair President, Chairman and CEO
Intel Texas Instruments

Lee T. Todd, Jr. Norman R. Augustine Jeffrey Wadsworth

President, University of Kentucky and Retired Chairman & CEO President and CEO
A P L U Chair Lockheed Martine Corportation Battelle

Alan I. Leshner Samuel Aronson

CEO President, Brookhaven Science Associates
American Association for the Advancement Chair, National Laboratory Directors Council
of Science
A123Systems Florida International University
Acoustical Society of America Florida State University
AEM Holdings, Inc. Freescale Semiconductor
Alcoa Fusion Power Associates
American Academy of Arts and Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology
American Association for the Advancement of Science Georgia State University
American Association of Physics Teachers Google, Inc.
American Astronomical Society GPV
American Chemical Society Grants Resource Center/American Association of State
American Geological Institute Colleges and Universities
American Institute for Medical and Biological Greater Phoenix Leadership, Inc.
Engineering Harvard University
American Institute of Physics HID Global
American Mathematical Society IBM Corporation
American Physical Society IEEE-USA
American Physiological Society Indiana University
American Society for Engineering Education Innovation Emporium, Inc.
ASME Intel Corporation
American Statistical Association Iowa Business Council Education Excellence
Applied Materials, Inc. Committee
Arizona State University Iowa State University
Association of American Universities Jefferson Science Associates, LLC
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Johns Hopkins Institutions
ASTRA - the Alliance for Science and Technology Kansas Bioscience Authority
Research in America Kansas State University
Auburn University LSI Corporation
Avaya Inc. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AVS-Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces Materials Research Society
and Processing Matheson Trigas
Ayoka The McGraw-Hill Companies
Battelle Michigan State University
Binghamton University Michigan Technological University
Bridge360 Micron Technology, Inc.
Brookhaven Science Associates Microsoft Corporation
Business Roundtable Minnesota Business Partnership
California Institute of Technology Motorola, Inc.
Case Western Reserve University National Association of Manufacturers
Clemson University National Center for Women & Information Technology
Click Bond, Inc. National Council for Science and the Environment
Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation National Gypsum Company
The Colorado Business Roundtable National Laboratory Directors Council
Colorado State University National Society of Professional Engineers
Columbia University National Semiconductor Corporation
Computing Research Association Neighborhood America, Inc.
Connecticut Optics and Photonics Association, Inc. New Mexico State University
Cornell University New York University
The Council for Chemical Research North Carolina State University
Council of Energy Research and Education Leaders Northern Illinois University
Council on Undergraduate Research Northwestern University
Covalent Solar The Ohio State University
Deloitte LLP Oklahoma State University
DOSECC, Inc. Optical Society of America
The Dow Chemical Company Oracle Corporation
Duke University Oregon State University
EMC Corporation The Pennsylvania State University
Emory University Philips Consumer Lifestyle
Energy Sciences Coalition Pivotal Insight L.L.C.
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Pivotal Product Management
Biology The Procter & Gamble Co.
Federation of Materials Societies Proteus Environmental Technologies
Florida Atlantic University Princeton University
Purdue University University of Cincinnati
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Colorado
Roos Instruments, Inc. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey University of the District of Columbia
SAE International University of Georgia
The Science Coalition University of Houston System
The Science, Engineering and Technology Working University of Illinois
Group University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Semiconductor Industry Association University of Iowa
Semiconductor Research Corporation University of Kansas
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics University of Kentucky
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology University of Maryland, College Park
South Dakota State University University of Massachusetts
Southeastern Universities Research Association University of Michigan
Southern Illinois University University of Minnesota
Stanford University University of Nebraska
The State University of New York University of New Hampshire
Stony Brook University University of New Mexico
The Stern Group University of New Orleans
Synopsis, Inc. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Syracuse University University of North Carolina Charlotte
Task Force on the Future of American Innovation University of North Texas
TechAmerica University of Oregon
Tech-X Corporation University of Pennsylvania
Teradata Corporation University of Pittsburgh
Teridian Semiconductor Corporation University of Rochester
Texas A&M University University of South Dakota
Texas Instruments University of South Florida
Texas State University - San Marcos University of Southern California
Tirraappendi, Inc. UT-Battelle, LLC
Tristaff University of Utah
University at Albany University of Vermont
University of Arizona University of Virginia
University of Arkansas University of Washington
University at Buffalo University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of California University of Wisconsin System
University of California, Berkeley Utah State University
University of California, Davis Vanderbilt University
University of California, Los Angeles Vermeer Corporation
University of California, Merced Virginia Commonwealth University
University of California, Riverside Washington State University
University of California, San Diego Washington University in St. Louis
University of California, Santa Barbara Wichita State University
University of California, Santa Cruz Xerox Corporation
University of Central Florida Yale University
The University of Chicago