NSF News
16 minority-serving institutions gain a competitive edge thanks to a $9.2M NSF research infrastructure award
Conducting ambitious and innovative research requires more than just funding a study itself. It also needs robust administrative and infrastructure support, which is often unseen yet critical to a program's success. Access to this support varies…
Pollutants affect biodiversity's role in the spread of wildlife diseases
Conventional wisdom among ecologists holds that the more species there are inhabiting an ecosystem, the less vulnerable any one species will be to a threat like a parasite. A new study of tadpoles at the University of Wisconsin–Madison illustrates…
Hundred-year storms? That's how long they last on Saturn
The largest storm in the solar system, a 10,000-mile-wide anticyclone called the Great Red Spot, has decorated Jupiter's surface for hundreds of years. A new study now shows that Saturn — though much blander and less colorful than Jupiter — also has…
NSF Director travels to New York University for New York Digital Vision Forum, delivers keynote alongside U.S. and Republic of Korea leaders
On Sept. 21, 2023, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan delivered a keynote at the New York Digital Vision Forum at New York University's (NYU) Manhattan campus. The event included speakers Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (who…
NSF announces over $5M in funding to create new STEM education and research center at the Arecibo Observatory site
Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced an investment of over $5 million over five-years for a collaborative partnership between three higher education institutions and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to establish a new multidisciplinary…
NSF announces 4 Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 awards to bolster cybersecurity, windstorms science, ocean observatory, and lasers research infrastructure
The U.S. National Science Foundation is pleased to announce four Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure-1 (Mid-scale RI-1) awards for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 that will continue the agency's support of cutting-edge science and engineering research. The four…
This week with NSF Director Panchanathan
In a whirlwind week, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan focused on strengthening and scaling collaborations to create both powerful local and global innovation systems. On Sept. 21, Director Panchanathan traveled to New York University to join in…
Civic Innovation Challenge awards $19M for climate change resilience and community-driven innovation
When a natural catastrophe strikes, how effectively are communities able to marshal access to resources and services? Across the nation, 19 teams of civic leaders and university scholars are working together to improve community effectiveness in…
Enabling key oceanographic science for the 21st century: NSF announces renewal of the Ocean Observatories Initiative facility award
The U.S. National Science Foundation has announced a $220 million award to a coalition of research organizations, led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), to continue operations and maintenance of the Ocean Observatories Initiative…
Scientists zero in on timing, causes of ice age mammal extinctions in Southern California
The end of the last ice age also marked the end for more than three dozen genera of large mammals in North America, from mammoths and mastodons to bison and saber-toothed cats. Details of the precise timing and circumstances, however, have remained…
Ancient DNA reveals an early African origin of cattle in the Americas
Cattle may seem like uniquely American animals, steeped in the lore of cowboys, cattle drives and sprawling ranches. In a study funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and published in Scientific Reports, researchers at the University…
NSF invests $25M to advance technologies and communications to operate securely through 5G networks
The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) is tackling 5G communication infrastructure and operational challenges through a $25 million investment to advance five convergent teams from Phase 1…
Dry lightning can spark wildfires even under wetter conditions
Dry lightning can still be disastrous even when conditions aren't so dry, a study has found. These cloud-to-ground strikes during little to no rainfall were previously thought to pose wildfire danger only if occurring with less than 2.5 mm of rain in…
Mapping methane emissions from rivers around globe reveals surprising sources
Freshwater ecosystems account for half of global emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Rivers and streams, especially, are thought to emit a substantial amount of that methane, but the rates and patterns of…
NSF invests $72.5M to design revolutionary materials
A $72.5 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation will drive the design, discovery and development of advanced materials needed to address major societal challenges. The Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future…
NSF, international partners, invest $76.4 million in inaugural Global Centers Competition awards
Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation — along with partner funding agencies from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom — announced awards totaling $76.4 million for the inaugural Global Centers Competition. These international…
Scientists discover new isopod species in the Florida Keys
Scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and North-West University in South Africa have discovered a new species of marine cryptofauna in the Florida Keys. Cryptofauna are the tiny, hidden…
Genes that shape bones identified, offering clues about our past and future
Using artificial intelligence to analyze tens of thousands of X-ray images and genetic sequences, researchers, including two NSF Graduate Research Fellows at The University of Texas at Austin and New York Genome Center, have been able to pinpoint the…
NSF and partners invest $45 million in the future of semiconductors
The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced 24 research and education projects with a total investment of $45.6 million — including funding from the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022" — to enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies…
New $50 million institute aims to use the power of math to model, predict biological processes
Building a mathematics-based understanding of biology at all scales of life — from individual cells to interactions between species — is the goal of a new $50 million institute supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation in partnership with the…