BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua)-- The Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) financed 41,184 programs in 2016, allocating 22.71 billion yuan (about 3.3 billion U.S. dollars).

Funded programs included research on gravitational waves, said Yang Wei, head of the NSFC, who added that the foundation had also launched research projects into areas including coexisting-cooperative-cognitive robotics, and piloted basic science programs on craton damage and the evolution of land.

The NSFC will focus on areas such as brain science, new materials, advanced manufacturing, quantum communication, robots, and information security, said the NSFC.

The foundation also said it would encourage scientists to continue to push boundaries in research and development.

According to Yang, the NSFC punished 91 people for misconduct and revoked 33 programs in 2016.

The fund will help to improve the research integrity system, ensure fairness and promote innovation, he added.