National Science Foundation (NSF)

Can artificial intelligence transform the way you get surgery? Engineers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation are developing autonomous robots that could significantly improve the efficiency, safety and consistency of surgical procedures. These new systems offer a promising direction for the future of automated surgeries as they learn directly from expert surgeons to improve surgical outcomes, reduce costs and expand access to high-quality care for people nationwide. Listen to "NSF's Discovery Files" to learn more: https://bit.ly/49o7pTp

The U.S. National Science Foundation is launching the NSF Tech Accelerator initiative to transform basic research outputs into scalable and market-ready technologies.  NSF will catalyze a set of NSF Tech Accelerators across currently underfunded deep-tech areas, and these NSF Tech Accelerators will, in turn, invest in teams conducting research and early-stage technology development. "The NSF Tech Accelerators initiative aims to ensure the U.S. is positioned to accelerate the throughput of high-impact technology innovation into the market by pairing domain expertise with proven commercialization support," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "Through external feedback, including from private industry and investment, this initiative will strengthen our nation's innovation enterprise by investing in new ideas, growing companies, unlocking matching commitments, particularly for scaling and ensuring U.S. competitiveness on a global scale." Learn about this new initiative and how your organization can get involved: https://bit.ly/4vjaZGZ.

Today, you can search for almost anything online, from recipes to quantum physics, but just a few decades ago, the online world looked very different. In the 1960s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) established the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network with four computer nodes. By the 1980s, NSF launched NSFNET to connect researchers to a new system of supercomputers. Between 1986 and 1993, NSFNET expanded from connecting roughly 2,000 computers to over 2 million, and NSF's continued support later led to the development of the world's first freely available web browser, Mosaic. Although NSFNET and Mosaic are no longer in use, their impact helped catalyze the creation of the internet we see today, and NSF continues to support research developing new networking tools, online educational resources and network-based applications. https://bit.ly/4dAtzo1 📷: Zina Deretsky #NSFImpacts

Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation relaunched its NSF Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs — with $250 million for the nation's startups and small businesses, including a new $40 million pilot emphasis area focused on the next generation of scientific instrumentation. "Scientific breakthroughs cannot have transformative impacts without the tools to further develop and pursue them," said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. The NSF SBIR/STTR programs provide nondilutive funding for startups to develop deep technologies into commercially viable products and services with significant economic and security impacts. Read more about the SBIR/STTR relaunch: https://bit.ly/4v9TJnl 📸: GrayMatter Robotics #NSFSBIR

Curious about the NSF X-Labs initiative? Join the first of four introductory webinars on NSF X-Labs, a bold, flexible and outcomes-driven initiative designed to build and accelerate novel platform technologies that can unlock entirely new sectors and new fields of scientific inquiry. Topic: "Introduction to the NSF X-Labs Funding Opportunity on Scientific Instrumentation for Sensing and Imaging" 📆 Thursday, May 28, 2026 🕐 1-2 p.m. EDT To register: https://bit.ly/4f0QolY The webinar will feature a brief presentation followed by a Q&A session. Learn more about NSF X Labs: https://bit.ly/4fxsvT1.

The U.S. National Science Foundation is settling into its new headquarters. 🎉 As we open the doors to our new building, we are excited to continue our mission of keeping America at the forefront of science, engineering and technology while advancing the nation's health, prosperity and welfare. This building represents more than a new address — it reflects our commitment to the American public as an engine of our nation's research enterprise. 📸: Charlotte Geary/NSF

A new biotech security system protects valuable cells with a genetic passcode. 🔒🧬 Genome editing has revolutionized biotechnology. Many essential products that we rely on are produced by genetically engineered cells — plants, tissues, etc. — making them incredibly valuable yet vulnerable to theft or espionage. GeneLock™, developed by NSF-funded researchers, safeguards valuable genetic material at the DNA level with an engineered passcode. The DNA is scrambled to prevent function, and only a specific chemical can restore it, blocking unauthorized access. "A crucial aspect to any good, uncrackable passcode is having an enormous number of possible combinations," said Clifford Weil, a NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences program director. "By combining the huge variation possible in DNA with many small chemical molecules and testing the system in this way, the work is both innovative and of vital interest to the security of biotechnologies at many levels." Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eB47QdGJ 📷: Image by Adobe Stock #biotechnology #genetics #science #biotech

Dozens of shipwreck mysteries are being uncovered through advances in machine learning and robotics. ⚓ Katie Skinner, an NSF-supported assistant professor, is advancing the field of robotics by combining computer vision with AI-driven machine learning techniques to search for shipwrecks in Lake Huron, where many known and suspected wrecks are located within the NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Watch to learn about their publicly available shipwreck dataset, which joined the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, a vision for a shared national research infrastructure for AI: https://lnkd.in/eDdWktwx The AI4Shipwrecks dataset was supported by the NOAA Ocean Exploration program under Award #NA21OAR0110196.

Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced $1.5 billion over the next decade for the NSF X-Labs initiative to tackle pressing scientific challenges through novel research partnerships. NSF X-Labs are independent teams of researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs pursuing milestone-based federal funding to solve specific scientific challenges. The first round of NSF X-Labs funding opportunities seeks proposals to develop next-generation scientific sensing and imaging instruments and advanced quantum interconnect and photonics technologies that enable future quantum computing systems. "The NSF X-Labs initiative represents our ambitious commitment to meeting the needs of the scientific enterprise today and tomorrow," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "With an initial investment of up to $1.5 billion in independent, milestone-driven research teams pursuing sector-defining platform capabilities, we're creating the conditions for transformative breakthroughs and accelerating America's leadership in the technologies that will define this century." Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eERDpfvX.

For 76 years, the U.S. National Science Foundation has fueled the breakthrough ideas that have expanded the boundaries of discovery and deepened our understanding of the world. As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, NSF is highlighting how investments in science and engineering have transformed everyday life and helped establish the United States as a global leader in innovation and technology. Recently, The Wall Street Journal asked readers to rank the 60 most impactful U.S. inventions. Many of the technologies that shape modern life got their start with NSF support. Can you guess which ones?