Press Statement 03-004
Statement by Dr. Rita R. Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation, On Award of the Nobel Prize in Economics

October 8, 2003

I am pleased to congratulate Dr. Robert F. Engle and Dr. Clive W. Granger for their selection as co-winners of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Economics. The National Science Foundation has supported the research of both of these distinguished economists for the past quarter century.

Their research and collaboration over the years have led to statistical methods for time series data that have become a routine part of financial analysis today. Their methods have become standard tools for such tasks as forecasting stock market performance, evaluating investment portfolio risks and analyzing interest-rate trends.

The work of Drs. Engle and Granger from the earliest days, up to their selection for the Nobel Prize today, has been a demonstration of remarkable thinking, dedication and professional and personal achievement.

It is a source of pride for NSF that it has supported 29 of the 53 economists who have received the prize since it was first awarded in 1969. It is a tribute to the public's continued confidence in funding the kind of fundamental research that moves us from the inconceivable, to the conceivable, and into the everyday societal benefits we derive tomorrow.

-NSF-

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David Hart, NSF (703) 292-7737 dhart@nsf.gov

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Fact Sheet: NSF-Funded Nobel Prize Winners in Science: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100683

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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