Obama’s announcement served to underscore the research and development commitment he reinforced in February’s State of the Union speech. The National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation will launch the project with $100 million from the 2014 budget Obama plans to send to Congress next week.

“Ideas are what power our economy,” Obama told a crowd of science supporters in the White House’s ceremonial East Room.

He noted computer chips, GPS technology and the Internet all grew out of government investment in basic research. “Sometimes some of the best products and services spin off from research no one expected to have certain applications,” he said.

Obama called the initiative, known as Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or BRAIN, the “next great American project.”

It’s also one of the administration’s so-called Grand Challenges. The initiative will require development of nonexistent technologies so researchers can map brain circuits and watch millions of cells in action. Those involved hope it helps treat complicated diseases like Alzheimer’s or tackle debilitating injuries such as post-traumatic brain syndrome. It could also unlock the mysteries of epilepsy and autism — a fitting announcement on World Autism Awareness Day.

The president took the moment to reiterate several of his usual themes. He tied investment in research to middle-class job growth. And he warned of the damage impending across-the-board cuts could have on these opportunities.

“We have a chance to improve lives through the research that is done,” Obama said. “It’s going to require a serious effort, a sustained effort. And it’s going to require us as a country to embody and embrace that spirit of discovery that is what made America America.”

But none of this will happen right away. NIH Director Francis Collins told reporters it will take years to see a “full flowering.”

Researchers don’t have the ability to collect such vast amounts of data and have yet to even outline specific goals. And the initiative is bound to face pushback from those who demand more concrete concepts before dedicating limited funds.

Collins likened the initiative to the Human Genome Project, which began as a controversial experiment and went on to transform scientists’ understanding of genetics.

“The worst thing we can do in challenging economic times is stifle innovative thinking,” he said.

The NIH will take the lead in establishing details with a “dream team” of 15 scientists. The agency has tapped Rockefeller University’s Cori Bargmann and Stanford University’s William Newsome to co-chair the group, which should offer suggestions by summer.

Obama also directed his bioethics commission to explore the ethical implications of such work.

The benefits could filter into multiple fields from IT to medical devices, said Tom Kalil, a White House innovation adviser. Several biomedical research institutes already have partnered on the project, including the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Tech companies barely waited for the president’s speech to end before expressing their delight. Qualcomm Chief Technology Officer Matt Grob said the company’s “rich heritage in wireless communications” made it “well-positioned” to make contributions.

Lawmakers also used the announcement to make their own proclamations.

“Mapping the human brain is exactly the type of research we should be funding, by reprioritizing the $250 million we currently spend on political and social science research into expanded medical research, including the expedited mapping of the human brain,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a statement. “It’s great science.”

Cantor chose Tuesday to unleash the Kids First Research Act, a proposal yet to hit the House that would swap taxpayer funds from presidential campaigns and party conventions for pediatric research at NIH.

Either way, the initiative shifts the focus back to waning federal research and development.

Collins praised Obama for recognizing that disparity, introducing him at the White House as the “scientist in chief.”

Obama wasn’t sure his physics grades warranted such acclaim. But, the president said, he considered the title a promotion.