The NSB also serves as an independent policy advisory body to the president and Congress on science and engineering research and education issues.

The board's mission statement states: "Supporting education and research across all fields of science and technology and America's investment in the future."

The board was established by the Congress to serve as a national science policy body, and to oversee and guide the activities of NSF.

Members are drawn from academia and industry, and represent a diverse range of science, technology, engineering, and education disciplines and geographic areas.

The data described in Indicators are a quantitative summary of the scope, quality, and vitality of the S&E enterprise over time and within a global context.

These data are intended to contribute to an understanding of the current environment and to inform the development of future policies.

The National Science Board authors one or more companion pieces that draw on the data in Indicators to offer recommendations related to national S&E research or education policy, in keeping with the Board's statutory responsibility to bring attention to such issues.

This award was created in 1980 by the NSB in memory of Vannevar Bush, who was a part of the creation of the National Science Foundation.

Candidates can be individuals or groups that have made great contributions to public knowledge of engineering and science.