Keep up with the latest from the U.S. National Science Foundation. This is a daily look at notable news, scientific findings and stories brought to you by NSF.
NSF News
Predicting and preventing pandemics is goal of new NSF awardsSeptember 12, 2022
The potential for future pandemics is an ever-present and growing threat, whether they are due to known diseases like monkeypox or Ebola, or an as-yet…
Research News
'Forever chemicals' destroyed by simple methodSeptember 12, 2022
PFAS, manufactured chemicals commonly used since the 1940s in nonstick and waterproofing agents, are called "forever chemicals" for good reason…
Research News
Study shows 'unprecedented' changes to world's riversSeptember 12, 2022
The way rivers function is significantly affected by how much sediment they transport and deposit. River sediment — mostly sand, silt and clay — plays…
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Quantum Sensing Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (QuSeC-TAQS)
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Document Number: nsf22630
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ENG NEWS
NSF initiates the first remotely accessible, augmented-reality facility for autonomous transportation research
September 13, 2022
Cars that communicate to smooth out traffic or brake to avoid accidents have the potential to significantly improve sustainability, safety, and mobility. Researchers continue to create many new technologies for connected and automated vehicles; however, most rely on limited open data sets for simulation and testing.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $5.0 million to the University of Michigan to enable academic researchers and students nationwide to access the world’s first cloud-based, augmented-reality testbed for connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies. The award will expand the university’s original CAV proving ground, known as Mcity, by integrating the physical test track with a software simulation environment.
“NSF invests in a broad array of fundamental research and new technologies for smart transportation, ranging from semiconductors and microelectronics to wireless communication, contactless electric vehicle charging, and artificial intelligence,” said Susan Margulies, NSF assistant director for ...
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Research News
Fish 'chock-full' of antifreeze protein found in iceberg habitats off GreenlandSeptember 14, 2022
New research based on an expedition to the icy waters off Greenland reveals high levels of antifreeze proteins in a species of tiny snailfish…
Research News
Researchers develop an integrated method to measure stability during walkingSeptember 14, 2022
Researchers at Georgia Tech funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation have developed an integrated approach to studying the biomechanics of falls…
Research News
Burying short sections of power lines could drastically reduce hurricanes' impact on coastal residentsSeptember 13, 2022
As Earth warms due to climate change, people living near the coasts not only face a higher risk of major hurricanes but are also more likely to…
Research News
Sharpest image to date of universe's most massive known starSeptember 13, 2022
Astronomers have yet to fully understand how the most massive stars — those more than 100 times the mass of the sun — are formed. One particularly…
Science Matters
Pala Students Win ‘Best New Team’ Award at 2022 DataJamSeptember 12, 2022
Supercomputers can complete tasks so impressive that they have outpaced science fiction movies. However, they do more than that, they can provide inspiration to the next generation of scientists. One supercomputing center inspiring youth is the San Diego Supercomputer Center, or SDSC, at the University of California San Diego, which provides high-performance supercomputing and cyberinfrastructure resources and services to the national research community, supporting hundreds of large-scale projects in life sciences, geosciences, engineering and other disciplines. Researchers and staff also provide mentoring for local high schoolers to demonstrate why students can love data science as much as researchers.
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Predicting and preventing pandemics is goal of new NSF awards
The potential for future pandemics is an ever-present and growing threat, whether they are due to known diseases like monkeypox or Ebola, or an as-yet-unknown infection. Nearly $26 million in new awards from the U.S. National Science Foundation will support interdisciplinary investigations and collaborations that aim to predict and prevent the next infectious disease outbreak, significantly contributing to national security, public health and economic stability.
The grants are part of NSF’s new Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention program, which supports high-risk, high-payoff convergent research that aims to identify, model, predict, track and mitigate the effects of future pandemics. The 26 new projects span the entire timeline of pandemic response, supporting data collection and analysis, creation of new sensors and predictive capabilities, methods for understanding impact and spread, processes to increase our ability to anticipate the role of human behavior and information sharing, and development of mitigation strategies and policy recommendations.
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NSF releases Open Knowledge Network Roadmap report
Report provides guidance for a cross-government and cross-sector effort to deploy an open knowledge network
The U.S. National Science Foundation today published the Open Knowledge Network Roadmap – Powering the next data revolution report that outlines a strategy for establishing an open and accessible national resource to power 21st century data science and next-generation artificial intelligence. Establishing such a knowledge infrastructure would integrate the diverse data needed to sustain strong economic growth, expand opportunities to engage in data analysis, and address complex national challenges such as climate change, misinformation, disruptions from pandemics, economic equity and diversity.
"The Open Knowledge Network Roadmap serves as a guide for powering the data revolution and provides a compelling set of use cases for developing this infrastructure," said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. "The report includes details that encourage organizations to think differently about creating and deploying an open knowledge network."
As an essential component of a national artificial intelligence and data science infrastructure, an open knowledge network is envisioned to provide an open, inclusive, community-driven platform to support new applications and frontiers in AI and data science research, such as ensuring fairness, diversity, equity and inclusion. It could also facilitate more expressive frameworks for capturing knowledge while enabling more robust, efficient and natural interfaces to access that knowledge. Organizations, regardless of size or sector, would be able to take advantage of the open knowledge network for evidence-based policymaking, game-changing research and many other areas of societal impact.
The report is the outcome of the "Open Knowledge Network Innovation Sprint," organized by NSF with support from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, that was held from February through June 2022. More than 150 stakeholders from government, academia, industry and nonprofits participated in the exercise and were organized into 17 groups to capture potential application areas and themes using specific use cases and user insights. The results of these user-centered designs were then compiled into the comprehensive roadmap.
NSF has invested in open knowledge networks for several years. In March 2019, NSF issued a Dear Colleague Letter announcing the Open Knowledge Network as one of the inaugural convergence research track topics of NSF's Convergence Accelerator. In the three years since, the program has funded nearly two dozen multidisciplinary teams across two phases to develop novel approaches, solutions and prototypes for an eventual open knowledge network. These efforts provided the context for the Innovation Sprint and contributed significantly to the Open Knowledge Network Roadmap.
To join the rollout event on September 15, from 1:30 - 3 p.m. EDT, visit https://apply.hub.ki/okn/.
For additional information about the Open Knowledge Network Roadmap report, visit beta.nsf.gov/tip/resources.
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ABOUT THE TIP DIRECTORATE
The Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, TIP, harnesses the nation's vast and diverse talent pool to advance critical and emerging technologies, address pressing societal and economic challenges, and accelerate the translation of research results from lab to market and society. TIP comprises three primary focus areas — fostering innovation and technology ecosystems, establishing translation pathways, and partnering across sectors to engage the nation's diverse talent to improve U.S. competitiveness, grow the U.S. economy and train a diverse workforce for future, high-wage jobs.
For more information about the program, visit the beta.nsf.gov/tip/latest.
EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC)
09/16/2022
EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC)
Solicitation: NSF 22-633
Due Date: December 20, 2022
Institutional Limit: 1
Limit Summary:
An organization may serve as lead on one proposal, either as the lead on a single proposal with subawards, or as the lead on a set of separately submitted collaborative proposals. An organization may serve as a non-lead on any number of additional proposals.
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs
09/16/2022
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs
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Document Number: nsf22631
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NSF News
NSF announces increased support for capacity building in quantum information science and engineering researchSeptember 16, 2022
The expansive and growing societal and economic impacts of quantum information science and engineering, or QISE, pose new challenges and unique…
Science Matters
International team finds oldest known dinosaur fossil in AfricaSeptember 15, 2022
When Christopher Griffin first saw a femur in the Zimbabwean dirt, he knew immediately that he was looking at a significant paleontology discovery. Griffin, then a graduate student working with a team of Virginia Tech and Zimbabwean paleontologists, had unearthed the fossil of the oldest known dinosaur in Africa. "Some bones you can identify to a big group, such as reptiles, but the femur, particularly the head of the femur, [has traits] that dinosaurs and only dinosaurs have," Griffin said. "We had found dinosaurian-looking fossils the previous day and that morning. But as soon as I dug around the femur and got it out, I immediately knew it was a dinosaur. Because no dinosaurs had been found at this age or older in Africa, I knew I was holding the bones of Africa's oldest definitive dinosaur." …
