National Science Foundation (NSF)

Supercomputers are ultrapowerful machines that perform complex calculations at exceptional speeds, enabling discoveries and solutions to some of society's toughest challenges. The U.S. National Science Foundation's ongoing investments are expanding the limits of computing by breaking ground on next-generation computing technologies, from the nation's fastest academic supercomputer to the construction of a quantum computer accessible to researchers nationwide. Listen to "NSF's Discovery Files" to learn: https://bit.ly/3PNQoLp

NSF-supported researchers have produced the most detailed computer-generated simulation of a dividing cell ever made. 🦠 Built on years of experimental results, researchers were able to determine the identity, location and function of thousands of molecules inside the cell. By adding time as a fourth dimension across 105 minutes, the team successfully created a 4D simulated cell, capturing how cellular components are made and degraded, how they function and move and how they partition into daughter cells. "Being able to model a cell with this exquisite detail enables us for the first time to ask questions at the molecular level about how cellular processes work, and to explore hypotheses that we cannot do with direct experiments," said Susan Marqusee, assistant director of NSF Biological Sciences. Learn more: https://bit.ly/47Du0dO 📷: Graphic by Zane Thornburg

Highly skilled researchers are essential to unlocking the full potential of advanced supercomputers and their practical benefits. 🔓💡 NSF is expanding hands-on training opportunities that enable new researchers to use advanced computing tools for discovery and innovation, including access to leading experts and world-class facilities. Two such initiatives are the NSF Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure and NSF Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies, which focus on training and growing the national workforce in advanced cyberinfrastructure and emerging technologies. Learn more about how NSF supports the development and provides access to state-of-the-art supercomputer hardware, software and infrastructure, driving transformative discoveries and innovation: https://lnkd.in/gVBwJ_AF 📷: TACC

For over 20 years, the NSF-supported Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG) has been advancing Earth science through collaboratively developing and sharing open-source software. Early on, one CIG community developed the Advanced Solver for Planetary Evolution, Convection, and Tectonics (ASPECT) software to simulate Earth's mantle and lithosphere. Through these simulations, scientists are able to better understand how and why tectonic plates move on Earth's surface. ASPECT is enabling scientists to discover new avenues to bolster energy supplies, providing insights into geological mysteries beyond Earth and is preparing the future scientific workforce to tackle real-world problems. https://bit.ly/41a0w3E 📷: Adobe Stock/rost9

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are developing new tools to overcome challenges in modern electronic devices and systems, including managing the immense heat generated as processors grow faster and more complex. Through a new tool called the Thermal Analysis of Semiconductor Chips, researchers can predict in real time how heat builds up inside advanced processors, allowing engineers to redesign more efficient and longer-lasting systems. Listen to "NSF's Discovery Files" to learn: https://bit.ly/4bP9Bot

For more than 40 years, the U.S. National Science Foundation has provided U.S. researchers with supercomputing resources, driving discovery and innovation in medical treatments, agriculture, materials and more. The 1985 NSF Supercomputer Centers Program, for example, expanded access to state-of-the-art supercomputer resources from only two universities to over 200 universities by the early 1990s, and established the U.S. as a world leader in computational science. NSF continues to provide U.S. researchers with unprecedented computing and artificial intelligence capabilities, including the installation, launched in 2025, of Horizon — the nation's largest academic supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) — as well as the NSF Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support program, which enables researchers and educators, regardless of funding availability, to access the nation's advanced computing systems and services at no cost. Learn more about how NSF's ongoing investments are expanding the limits of computing, driving discoveries, enhancing prosperity and bolstering national security: https://bit.ly/4s18pmZ 📷: San Diego Supercomputer Center

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a new funding opportunity as part of an effort to enable all Americans to understand, apply and create with artificial intelligence. The NSF TechAccess: AI-Ready America (NSF AI-Ready America) initiative will expand access to AI knowledge, tools, training and capacity-building so all Americans can participate in — and benefit from — the AI economy. The initiative focuses on three key areas: enhancing AI literacy and skills among the workforce, providing small businesses and local governments with AI tools and support, and creating hands-on learning opportunities, such as internships, to apply AI skills in real-world settings. "America's AI competitiveness depends on a strong research and development ecosystem paired with access to advanced science and technology knowledge for our current and future workforce," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "NSF AI-Ready America provides that foundation — giving workers, businesses and communities in every state and territory the tools and knowledge to advance AI together." Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eqYrsMbf

Congratulations to the winners of the Tech Metal Transformation Challenge launched by STRIDE Ventures: AlkaLi Labs, ChemFinity Technologies, Critical Materials Recycling, EDAC Labs, Infinite Elements, Inc, Intel-E-Waste, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Valor Metals. Each team will receive funding to conduct research and development on their solutions for end-to-end prototype systems that can extract, convert and return metals from complex domestic waste streams into high-performance materials for advanced manufacturing.  "The Tech Metal Transformation Challenge is an exciting program that addresses a national security imperative to secure the domestic supply chain for critical minerals through research and innovation," said Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for the NSF Directorate of Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. "The winners of this challenge demonstrated their capability to create solutions that tackle the hardest technical gaps in critical materials recovery, gaps that directly impact U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and national security. Their work will reduce reliance on foreign sources and enable on-shoring of advanced manufacturing capabilities across key sectors like defense and energy." Click to learn more: https://bit.ly/3NCAYsM 📷:STRIDE Ventures/Start2 Group

Last week, Brian Stone, performing the duties of the U.S. National Science Foundation director, joined students, researchers and industry partners at the second National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) annual meeting to highlight the NSF-led NAIRR Pilot's science and innovation outcomes. For decades, NSF has been committed to investing in fundamental AI research that has shaped much of today's technology. NAIRR is continuing this commitment by building a national infrastructure that is connecting the U.S. scientific community to world-class AI resources and training opportunities. NAIRR's public-private collaborative model enables AI discovery and shortens the path from foundational research to deployable AI applications, fueling AI innovation and supporting The White House's AI Action Plan. As NAIRR moves from the pilot phase to a sustained national capability, it will continue to become a core component of the U.S. AI innovation ecosystem, reinforcing American leadership in AI research, deployment and real-world impact. https://bit.ly/4dAvMjr

The U.S. National Science Foundation invests $11 million to expand professional development in artificial intelligence for K-12 teachers nationwide, supporting the executive order on "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth." The award will launch Artificial Intelligence Professional Development Weeks: CS Foundations for Creating with AI, a multistate initiative that will prepare thousands of K-12 educators to teach foundational computer science and AI at scale, enhancing their skills and broadening high-quality AI learning opportunities nationwide.  "This investment will equip thousands of educators with the tools needed to bring AI and computer science into the classroom, turning the executive order into action and preparing the next generation to become innovators, builders and leaders. We are thinking beyond AI towards what the White House calls the 'Future of Intelligence,'" said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director.  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/evBUf6_j.