Thanks to funding from federal agencies, these five scientists were able to take research risks or pursue wonky research, yielding unexpected discoveries that benefit humanity. 

Cooper, who pioneered the Golden Goose Award to celebrate federally funded research with unexpected benefits to society, will retire from Congress at the end of this term.

The Golden Goose Award spotlights scientific research that may have appeared obscure, sounded funny, or for which the results were unforeseen at the outset but ultimately, and often serendipitously, led to breakthroughs.

Investing in scientific innovation can build a more competitive U.S. economy, said Sudip Parikh, chief executive officer of AAAS and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, in testimony before the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee on April 27.

Since 1993, a wide range of institutions have been awarded Undergraduate Science Research Program grants.

• Short list of funded projects
• List of award recipients, 2002-2005

A review of requested funding for manufacturing R&D programs at the Defense Department, Department of Energy, NIST, and the National Science Foundation.