The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) (Dutch: NFWO, French: FNRS) is a government institution in Belgium for supporting scientifc research. Nowadays it has been split into two organizations, the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) in Flanders and the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) in Wallonia. Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; a... Wallonia (French: Wallonie, German: Wallonien, Walloon: Walonreye, Dutch: Wallonië) or the Walloon Region (French: Région Wallonne, Dutch: Waals Gewest) is the predominantly French-speaking region that constitutes one of the three federal regions of Belgium, with its capital at Namur. ...

The task of the FWO and FNRS is to stimulate the development of new knowledge in all scientific disciplines. The means to achieve this, is to finance excellent scientists and research projects after an inter-University competition and with an evaluation by foreign experts. The criterion for support is the scientific quality of of the scientist and the research proposal, irrespective of scientific discipline.

History

The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) was founded on 2 June 1928 after a call by king Albert I of Belgium for more resources for scientific research. On 1 October 1927, in a speech at Cockerill in Seraing, King Albert I strongly emphasized the importance of scientific research to the economic development of Belgium. He repeated his appeal for more resources, on 26 November 1927, in a speech to the Academy. This led to the creation within the University Foundation of the National Fund for Scientific Research on 2 June, 1928. The new institute was lead by Emile Francqui. June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... Albert I (April 8, 1875 – February 17, 1934) was the third King of the Belgians. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cockerill is a surname, and may mean John Cockerill, British businessman and founder of Cockerill-Sambre, son of William Glenn Cockerill, English football manager Richard Cockerill, English rugby player William Cockerill, British entrepreneur of the Industrial Revolution See also Cockerell This human name article is a disambiguation page — a list... Seraing is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... LAcadèmie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique or The Royal Academy for Sciences, Letters and Arts of Belgium is one of the two royal academies on science and the arts in Belgium, being first so named in 1845. ... The Belgian University Foundation (French: Fondation Universitaire, Dutch: Universitaire Stichting) was founded in 1920. ... Emile Francqui ( Brussels, 25 June 1863 - Brussels, 1 November 1935) was a Belgian soldier, diplomat and business man. ...

The NFSR was the first Belgian organization to finance fundamental scientific research. Among the earliest projects funded were the stratosphere flights of professor Auguste Piccard. The FNRS-1 was a balloon that set a world altitude record. The NFSR also funded the FNRS-2, which was the first ever bathyscaphe built. Auguste Piccard (1927) Auguste Antoine Piccard (January 28, 1884 – March 24, 1962) was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer. ... The FNRS-2 was the first ever bathyscaphe built. ... Trieste A bathyscape or bathyscaphe is a self-propelled deep-sea diving submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere suspended below a float filled with a buoyant liquid such as petrol. ...

See also

• Institute for the promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT)
• Belgian Academy Council of Applied Sciences (BACAS)
• Flemish Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology (VIB)
• Flemish institute for technological research (VITO)
• European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM)
• Francqui Foundation
• Francqui Prize
• InBev-Baillet Latour Fund
• Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation

The Institute for the promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology (Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie, IWT-Flanders) is a public institution in Flanders (Belgium) to provide R&D and innovation support. ... The VIB (Vlaams Interuniversitair Instituut voor Biotechnologie), or Flemish Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology, is a research institute located in Flanders, Belgium. ... The Flemish institute for technological research or VITO, is a research centre, located in Mol, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. ... ERCIM is an acronym for European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics. ... The Francqui Foundation was founded in 1932 by Emile Francqui and Herbert Hoover with the goal to further the development of higher education and scientific research in Belgium. The foundation is a private foundation under the legal from of a Belgian Institution of Public Utility. The Francqui Foundation wants to... The Francqui Prize is a prestigious Belgian scholary and scientific prize, awarded each year since 1933 by the Francqui foundation in recognition of the achievements of a young (under 50) Belgian scholar or scientist. ...

External links

• Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO)
• Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS)
• History