Fed shutdown forces NSF websites to go dark

The partial U.S. government shutdown that began  Tuesday morning counts the National Science Foundation websites and applications, and those who would use them, as victims.

The NSF.gov website now only features a page explaining in 1,157 words why there's not much there aside from the explanation itself.

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The web page reads in part:

"Due to the lapse in government funding, National Science Foundation websites and business applications, including NSF.gov, FastLane, and Research.gov will be unavailable until further notice. We sincerely regret this inconvenience.       Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at www.opm.gov.

In cases of imminent threat to life or property, please call the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-428-2189."

Among other things, no new funding opportunities will be issued, according to the NSF web page.

The NSF funds a slew of network and computing research, largely at universities. Recent funding has gone toward the iPlant Collaborative, a big data project about plants and animals, and another project designed to speed data processing for applications such as healthcare devices and security systems.

One contributor to Dave Farber's Interesting People mailing list wrote today that: "I was astonished, going to Fastlane to check recent NSF awards, to find that it, and all of the other NSF sites, are now down, or, to be exact, redirect to a page explaining that they're unavailable due to the budget impasse."

The government shutdown has forced most government scientists, such as those with the NSF and National Institutes of Health, along with NASA, to stay home.

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Bob Brown tracks network research in his Alpha Doggs blog and Facebook page, as well on Twitter and Google +. 

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