National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan spent the week commemorating NSF's leading efforts in strengthening partnerships and supporting research empowering individuals and communities to promote a better, safer, healthier world. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Panchanathan joined the NSF Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (NSF OSDBU) to present the NSF OSDBU Star award. The award recognizes NSF organizations for their exemplary service in advancing opportunities for small businesses to partner with NSF. This year's awardees, the NSF Directorate for Engineering and Office of Chief Information Officer, leveraged investments to strengthen individuals and uplift local communities that power and fuel the national economy. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the director attended the Embassy of Sweden in USA's gala dinner to honor the 2024 American Nobel laureates at the House of Sweden in Washington, D.C. Panchanathan joined Swedish Ambassador Urban Ahlin to celebrate the astounding and transformative accomplishments of this year's winners, including seven laureates supported by NSF. In his remarks at the Nobel dinner, the director emphasized NSF’s crucial role in supporting fundamental research and continued efforts to grow its impact by expanding strategic investments and fostering international collaborations. NSF has supported 268 Nobel laureates across all scientific disciplines and is proud to have played a role in discoveries that push the frontiers of knowledge. On Thursday, Nov. 14, the director met with Chairman Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OH) to thank him for his outstanding leadership at the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in ensuring the U.S. remains in the vanguard of science and technology, and for his strong support for science and NSF's vital mission. Later that day, the director published a LinkedIn article discussing the significant impact that federal investments have on Nobel laureates' research. Panchanathan stressed the need to grow and accelerate federal support so the U.S. can remain a global leader in research. https://bit.ly/4fMLWUX

As artificial intelligence (#AI) becomes more integrated in various aspects of society, NSF is ensuring it’s done responsibly. Investing in research and development as well as responsibly deploying new and evolving technologies internally is the comprehensive twofold system NSF uses to conduct its work on AI. Dorothy Aronson, the division director and chief data officer serving as the assistant chief information officer for AI is focused on the latter. She sits down with Nextgov/FCW to explain NSF’s AI policies, including her role and responsibilities, how they may evolve over time, her team dynamics, their main priorities and how to create policies to ensure responsible use of AI over its life cycle. Check out the full interview: https://bit.ly/3CFpizl 📷: Charlotte Geary/NSF #artificialintelligence #researchanddevelopment #emergingtechnology

Nobel Prizes celebrate individual achievements that result from years of hard work to better understand our world. While these prizes highlight personal success, winners often thank their colleagues, mentors, and U.S. federal agencies for their support. The U.S. National Science Foundation has helped nearly 270 laureates with critical funding at crucial times in their careers. Discoveries by Nobel laureates, like the CRISPR technology, greatly affect our economy, safety, and health. In his latest article, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan highlights the crucial need for ongoing investment in research to drive innovation and progress ⬇

HEN Nozzles is dedicated to developing innovative wildfire-fighting technologies that enhance first responders' safety. Their adjustable smoothbore nozzle uses advanced fluid dynamics to suppress fires 300% faster while conserving 67% more water. With the increasing frequency of wildfires worldwide, HEN Nozzles aims to help fire departments save resources and improve safety. The company recently raised $8 million in funding. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3Ctu0QL. #NSFSBIR #firesuppression 📷: HEN Nozzles

This hurricane season, researchers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for new ways to model storms and quickly predict their paths. Recent studies suggest some AI systems may predict hurricane paths more quickly, while AI tools are developing to personalize predictions to the scale of neighborhoods and homes. Unlike traditional models that crunch enormous amounts of atmospheric data about a current storm, AI models train on existing data from decades of storms, looking for physical processes that indicate storm behavior. On a recent episode of NBC News Now's "The Future of Everything," University of Oklahoma professor and NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography director Amy McGovern explains how AI may soon transform hurricane prediction: https://bit.ly/4erNi6r 📸: Travis Caperton

Ready, set, LIFT OFF! 🚀🛰️ A #NSFfunded team is working with more than 150 students from six collaborating universities to design and build three identical CubeSats, or shoebox-sized satellites, which they plan to launch into space in 2026. As part of the Space Weather Atmospheric Reconfigurable Multiscale Experiment, the three CubeSats will collect data to improve space weather forecasting, to reduce the negative impacts of this weather on systems and technologies in orbit. "CubeSats, which are light and inexpensive compared to typical satellites, offer a unique way to advance observations in space weather and atmospheric and geospace sciences," NSF Program Director Mangala Sharma said. "They also allow us to experiment with novel technologies and engage students in exciting space missions." Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Z33zuf 📷: Shutterstock

NSF honors our veterans by thanking them for their service and continued contributions to our mission and the nation’s workforce. Learn how NSF is helping veterans find opportunities in STEM education and careers, ensuring their valuable contributions continue to shape our future. https://bit.ly/3ACxIqC

In a whirlwind of activity over the past two weeks, U.S. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan has been at the forefront of championing a vision of innovation without limits and paving the way for a boundary-free future in scientific discovery. On Thursday, Oct. 31, the director gave a keynote speech at the "Artificial Intelligence-Bioscience Collaborative International Summit" in Washington, D.C., run by the U.S. Department of State in collaboration with NSF, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Microsoft and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The summit brought together partners and experts in AI and the biological sciences to share strategic opportunities for scientific discoveries and collaborations between these two fields and the potential risks. Panchanathan highlighted the significance of NSF's investments in accelerating discoveries in AI and bioscience thus far and stressed the importance of fostering international and cross-sector collaborations. That same day, the director announced the official opening of the NSF Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills and Community Engagement (Arecibo C3 STEM Center) in 2025. The opening will coincide with NSF's 75th anniversary commemorations, a significant year celebrating decades of advancing scientific discovery and innovation. The NSF Arecibo C3 Center will empower the next generation of researchers and foster community around culturally relevant and inclusive values. The following week, on Monday, Nov. 4, The Tartan featured the director's discussion with Carnegie Mellon University students. During the conversation, Panchanathan stressed the gravity of investing in universities to cultivate environments of success, inspiration and innovation, specifically for the future of artificial intelligence. On Thursday, Nov. 7, Panchanathan traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, to join Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) to announce the agency's $26 million investment in the NSF Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub. The University of Kansas will lead a team of researchers in collaboration with institutions across the country to reduce emissions from refrigerants while increasing the energy efficiency of heating, ventilation and cooling, securing U.S. leadership in workforce development and manufacturing. On Saturday, Nov. 9, Panchanathan will deliver a virtual keynote at the "India-U.S. Higher Education Dialogue" hosted by the Confederation of Indian Private Universities (CIPU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). His speech will highlight the significance of U.S.-Indian collaboration in higher education and emphasize the crucial role that scientific research and innovation play in shaping the future of global education. 📷: Brian Stone/NSF 📷: Amanda Greenwell/NSF

Nearly 85% of U.S. women report symptoms associated with menopause, but it has received relatively little attention in scientific research. Now, biomedical and computer experts are joining forces to advance menopause research with artificial intelligence to improve treatments and bridge gaps in #womenshealth coverage. To support these initiatives, the NSF hosted a landmark workshop, "Using AI to Better Understand Menopause," for the researchers to collaborate and discuss how AI can analyze data to show patterns that traditional research methods may miss. "In bringing leading experts in women's health together with experts in AI and designing new programs informed by their insights, NSF is elevating and expanding necessary conversations about the challenges of menopause while accelerating research to find solutions," said NSF Chief Science Officer Karen Marrongelle. Read the "Science Matters" story: https://bit.ly/3CkCaLd

From clean steel and #AI-driven sepsis diagnostics to eco-friendly farming and sustainable batteries, their groundbreaking innovations earned them a spot on TIME's "The Best Inventions of 2024: 200 innovations changing how we live."     TIME editors have compiled these lists annually for more than two decades to highlight the most groundbreaking innovations in the world. Each company is evaluated on several key factors: originality, efficacy, ambition and impact. NSF-supported startups that made the list this year include:  ✅ Electra ✅ Prenosis  ✅ Loggerhead Instruments ✅Ambercycle ✅Pivot Bio ✅ South 8 Technologies ✅AM Batteries Special Mentions: ✅Bayesian Health ✅Sonavex Read the full list here: https://bit.ly/4elyKoO. #NSFSBIR