National Science Foundation (NSF)

Between gift giving and getting, cookie eating and eggnog sipping, and mistletoe lingering and jingling around the clock, NSF wishes you and yours happy holidays! Like a certain jolly old elf, NSF's impact is global. By advancing the full spectrum of science and engineering research, NSF connects and empowers people far and wide through learning and discovery — the real magic of unwrapping the mysteries of our universe. 🎁

A Future of Efficient Energy from Light | NSF's Discovery Files Podcast

This time of the year, twinkling lights light up neighborhoods at night, creating a festive, merry-making ambiance that could put a smile even on Scrooge’s face.💝☃️✨️ Over the last few decades, light technology has undergone generational improvements, leading to high-performing solar cells, LEDs and more. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, North Carolina State University professor Aram Amassian explains photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices and the differences between the two. He also discusses the future of light technology and using perovskite materials — a promising family of crystalline compounds with optimal optoelectronic properties — for the development of next-generation solar cells.😎 Watch the full episode here ➡https://bit.ly/3BNMATB.

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Ever wondered what it would be like to gaze into a black hole? 👀😱 Thanks to an #NSFfunded research team from Vanderbilt University — Roman Berens, @Alex Lupsasca, and doctoral candidate Trevor Gravely — you can now experience it through a free, iPhone-compatible app called Black Hole Vision. 📲 The app essentially simulates a black hole’s "photon ring," the place where light rays orbit closest around the black hole before escaping to infinity. https://apple.co/4gvRovz The researchers’ work is part of a large, collaborative project called Black Hole Explorer, a proposed space mission that would combine the capabilities of a space-based telescope with ground-based radio antennas, operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), to create a very long baseline interferometer, allowing scientists to reveal for the first time the "photon ring" of orbiting light around the supermassive black holes M87* and Sgr A*. 🕳️💫 Learn more: https://bit.ly/49D5Xvp. 📷:Lia Medeiros, Institute for Advanced Study

Earth's history is frozen in ancient ice. 🧊🌍 Ice cores, samples drilled from glaciers, allow scientists to reconstruct climate conditions far into the past. Ice holds chemical elements, like salts, which can reveal past storms or ocean conditions and temperature fluctuations, but most fascinatingly, air bubbles. 🫧This air space, almost perfectly preserved, provides a direct observation of ancient atmospheres. Listen to the latest "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast as Peter Neff, an assistant professor UMN Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, discusses the process of collecting ice cores, how data is obtained from them and what the past may teach us about the future. Listen or watch the full video: https://bit.ly/4gohJeW

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Students, if you were the architect of society 75 years from now, what would it look like? Would your future civilization focus on exploring the outer reaches of space or the ocean's deepest depths? Maybe your future society has harnessed the full potential of quantum computing to power new kinds of technologies, or perhaps it constructed green cities whose populations are supported by sustainable ecosystems. To commemorate NSF's 75th anniversary in 2025, the agency has launched the NSF Game Makers Challenge, offering K-12 students the opportunity to engineer their visions of the future by designing and developing video games imagining life in 2100, when science and technological advancements have unlocked limitless possibilities. With a chance to win cash awards across a handful of categories, including six grand prizes of $5,000 each, now is the time to create and share your video game with the world. Who knows, maybe one day, your idea will be a reality!👾🎮 The deadline to submit video game entries is Jan. 31, 2025. To learn more about this competition, including how to enter, eligibility and more, visit https://bit.ly/3VodNmJ #NSF75 #GameMakersAward

Overhead video of a trackway of footprints hypothesized to have been created by a Paranthropus boisei individual. Credit: Kevin G. Hatala, Chatham University

Looking for a way to recognize STEM teachers in your community? Nominations and applications for the seventh through 12th grade cycle of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are now open! Watch below to learn a little more about the program and what you can do to recognize dedicated and passionate educators. Nominate a teacher or begin an application, today: https://bit.ly/3Y9ZGDk

Groundbreaking technique makes skin TRANSPARENT. #NSFfunded researchers used a common food dye to make skin and muscle safely and reversibly transparent, revealing organs, blood flow and even digestion in sleeping animals. ″Looking forward, this technology could make veins more visible for the drawing of blood, make laser-based tattoo removal more straightforward, or assist in the early detection and treatment of cancers,″ said Stanford University assistant professor of materials science and engineering Guosong Hong, a U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER grantee who helped lead this work, published in @ScienceMagazine. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Z7uoxI (Do not try this at home!)

Soft Robotics Explained v2

What could a robot be? What could it do? These are key questions Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio, a mechanical engineer at Yale University and the recipient of the distinguished Waterman Alan T. Waterman Award , aims to answer through her research, which challenges our traditional ideas surrounding robots. In this video, Kramer-Bottiglio discusses her work in soft robotics. This growing field is focused on building robots using soft, flexible materials and components that enable locomotion and continuous data collection across diverse environments. 🎥: NSF

[Lahaina] Maui Fire Recovery

Almost a year ago, one of the deadliest fires in modern U.S. history devastated Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, burning over 2,170 acres and damaging or destroying around 2,200 buildings. The inferno led to a substantial release of ash, melted plastic and other contaminants into the environment, significantly impacting water quality and Maui's precious coral reef ecosystems. Armed with NSF Grants for Rapid Response Research, #NSFfunded teams from the University of Hawaii at Manoa were on the ground immediately following the fires. One team tested the drinking water while another deployed autosampler sensors off the west coast of Maui to monitor the health of the coral reefs. Find out what the researchers learned on "NSF Science Now: Lahaina Wildfires."

What does it take to build a modern scientific research vessel? 🚢 Check out the design process for the three new 200 ft research vessels tailored to support #NSFfunded U.S. coastal research. #OceansMonth 📽: Oregon State University

Happy 60th birthday Alvin! 🥳 Alvin, commissioned as one of the world's first deep-ocean submersibles in 1964, is a #NSFfunded human-occupied vehicle (HOV) that has allowed scientists to explore the deep sea with unprecedented access for the last six decades, expanding our knowledge about this mysterious, alien world. 🐙 Alvin's state-of-the-art design and regular upgrades have enabled it and two passengers to reach 6,500 meters (4 miles) deep! This allows researchers to access about 99% of the ocean floor. Scientists can collect and observe data throughout the water column during dives lasting up to 10 hours. The maneuverable HOV can hover in the water, tackle rugged topography, or rest on the sea floor. Alvin's deep dives have advanced science by discovering "black smoker" hydrothermal vents, investigating the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, examining whale falls and the chemosynthetic community around them, or famously, exploring the wreckage of the RMS Titanic at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Alvin is currently assisting Lisa Levin, a marine ecologist and biological oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography survey methane seeps off the coast of Alaska. Read to learn about it: https://bit.ly/4bZXnXj. 📽: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) #Alvin60 #AlvinHOV #deepsearesearch #oceanexploration #ocean