National Science Foundation (NSF)

Artificial intelligence holds the potential to accelerate research across scientific disciplines, expand the nation's workforce and transform society. As interactions between learning-based AI and humans increase, it is crucial to understand how to train language models to optimize performance for specific tasks. In this episode of "NSF Discovery Files" podcast, Mingyi Hong, a professor at the University of Minnesota, discusses using reinforcement learning, a trial-and-error system guided by reward, to train AI agents. Professor Hong discusses learning strategies and challenges that can arise with training AI agents, along with the potential future for the technology and its benefit to society. Watch the full episode here: https://bit.ly/4lWtnRF

Artificial intelligence advances diabetes management using a secure new learning system. 🧑⚕️📲 Researchers funded by various U.S. National Science Foundation grants are developing innovative tools to help patients predict their blood sugar levels more accurately without compromising privacy. "Federated learning" is the core of the technology, which enables #AI models to be trained across multiple patients' devices without sending any personal data to a central server — an ideal setup for health care, where privacy is paramount. 🔏 This cutting-edge approach has the potential to transform how people with #diabetes monitor and manage their condition in real-time. With diabetes costing the U.S. economy over $300 billion annually, innovations that enable earlier intervention and personalized care can drive down long-term costs and improve population health outcomes. This project highlights how public investment in cutting-edge research drives innovation that benefits not only individual patients but also the entire U.S. healthcare system. https://bit.ly/4561BuM #healthcare #biotech #science #artificialintelligence 📷: Graphic by NSF/Images left to right: Carlo Prearo/AdobeStock; lukszczepanski/AdobeStock

Microsoft has developed a prototype quantum chip based on theoretical research funded by NSF over 20 years ago. ⚙️ The chip is the latest contender in the race to create useful quantum computers, which could potentially help scientists find new materials, medicines and other treasures hidden within the practically infinite variety of nature. In 2000, theoretical physicist Chetan Nayak received an NSF Faculty Early Career Development grant to explore the untapped potential of systems that could be created with newly discovered materials now known as topological materials. He later joined Microsoft, where he now leads the company's efforts to develop a functional quantum computer by physically implementing some of his #NSFfunded theories. "NSF was really important in supporting my career in its early stages, without a doubt," says Nayak. "NSF was there at the start." Learn all about topological qubits, quasiparticles and the people behind the science in NSF's latest "Science Matters" story: https://bit.ly/3GKuTaj 📷: John Brecher for Microsoft #quantumscience #quantumcomputer #computerchip #technology #science

Origami isn't just art — it's inspiration for cutting-edge #NSFfunded research. 💡 Metamaterials are a special class of engineered materials, designed to have unique properties not found in nature. In the latest "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Glaucio Paulino, a professor at Princeton University, dives into his work on developing modular chiral origami metamaterials, engineering control approaches, and the ways they might benefit society. https://bit.ly/46weSzf #metamaterials #engineering #science 📷: Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

The U.S. National Science Foundation is committed to ensuring the United States is at the vanguard of innovation in artificial intelligence to secure economic competitiveness and national security. To align with The White House AI Action Plan, NSF will be investing in NSF AI Research Institutes, multi-sectoral partnerships, AI Testbeds and the next phase of the National AI Research Resource. "These investments will help secure U.S. leadership in AI while ensuring the benefits of this powerful technology reach across America and create more jobs," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "NSF stands ready to work alongside our partners in government, private industry and philanthropy to keep American innovation on the frontier where it belongs." https://bit.ly/3GXVMHL

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is offering a unique experience to explore the cosmos visually and through sound. Skyviewer is an easy-to-use, interactive app that brings detailed images of the cosmos from the Rubin Observatory to users at home. Participants can embark either on a guided or free-form journey to move through galaxies, stars, supernovas and more. The sonification feature also provides the opportunity to experience the app's data through sound, with a different listening experience each time. The Rubin Observatory is equipped with the largest digital camera ever built, uncovering the mysteries of the cosmos to enable groundbreaking discoveries. Click to explore: https://bit.ly/3GUUOvV

A leap forward in brain research and health, powered by federally funded research. Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are a growing concern in the U.S., with over 7 million Americans living with #Alzheimers disease today. By 2060, that number is expected to grow, affecting nearly 13 million people. Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, a team of researchers at the University of Southern California is developing an artificial intelligence model that could predict neurodegenerative diseases years before symptoms surface. The AI is capable of generating a future MRI of a person's brain from just a single present-day scan. This technology opens the door to identifying subtle changes that may signal the earliest stages of neurodegenerative diseases The multidisciplinary research combined AI, neuroscience and mathematical modeling to address one of the most urgent public health challenges of our time. This work was made possible through NSF's long-term investment in: 💠Cyber-physical systems. 💠Uncertainty modeling. 💠Trustworthy and explainable AI. Federally funded research provides the foundation for discoveries that improve lives. With continued support, these tools could become part of routine preventive care, potentially saving millions in health care costs and improving countless lives. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/4kOW6qi Graphic by U.S. National Science Foundation. Image credits left to right: pressmaster/AdobeStock; Gengshuo Liu, University of Southern California; mankjon/AdobeStock; pavlofox/AdobeStock

The "pressure-quench protocol," a new technique developed by #NSFfunded researchers, offers a novel approach for exploring and developing superconducting materials. The technique created by a collaborative team of researchers from the University of Houston and the University at Buffalo stabilizes a composite material in a superconducting state at ambient or normal pressure. Superconducting materials have the potential to enable highly efficient electronic devices and minimal energy loss in power grids. The new protocol also opens a new way to explore material phases that usually exist only under extreme pressure. "The technique used in this study not only demonstrates potential for understanding how materials can be superconductive in everyday conditions — it's a new way to create states of matter that we have not seen before in particular materials," says John Schlueter, program director in the NSF Division of Materials Research, which supported the work. https://bit.ly/46NNBYW 📷: Liangzi Deng, Busheng Wang and Ching-Wu Chu #superconducting #NSFfunded

NSF is excited to announce its first set of Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) designated institutions. NSF EGFP funding of approximately $25 million will support more than 160 fellows at 16 institutions across the country. The program provides funding to institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions to increase research capacity and attract some of the nation's most outstanding STEM students. https://bit.ly/4m2QJVj

In support of the NSF-led National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot, the agency announces a new partnership with Voltage Park to match U.S. researchers with high-performance cloud computing resources and expert support to drive AI innovation. "Voltage Park's participation significantly strengthens our ability to deliver on the promise of the NAIRR pilot," said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. "By partnering with visionary private-sector organizations like Voltage Park, we are expanding the frontiers of AI research and ensuring that the U.S. continues to lead in AI innovation." Launched in 2024, the NAIRR pilot is a public-private initiative that expands access to the critical tools and resources needed to advance U.S. leadership in AI, promoting economic growth and national competitiveness. https://bit.ly/456yBUM