NSF Quarterly: News from the Director

 

Dear NSF Community,    I was just at Mississippi State University where I was thrilled to relaunch the NSF Days series on November 21st. This NSF Day highlighted the multitude of opportunities and activities made possible through collaboration with NSF. We need every region in the nation to be part of the science and engineering enterprise. Every state and community, from rural towns to urban centers, has unique talent and perspectives that are crucial to the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and innovation. I look forward to meeting more amazing researchers as the NSF Days series continues to engage more regions around the country.  Developing scientific talent and our STEM workforce is more critical today than ever before. NSF has been busy fostering partnerships with Intel and Micron to train the semiconductor workforce of tomorrow. Five new I-Corps Hubs are growing access to innovation by expanding the National Innovation Network.    During the newly proclaimed National Entrepreneurship Month, which President Biden announced on October 31, I am eager to share that with additional funding, NSF is standing ready to scale a series of new activities, including Entrepreneurial Fellowships and a new $30 million workforce development program, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT). These activities will help individuals gain valuable work experience in emerging technology areas and make entrepreneurship more accessible for people in emerging innovation ecosystems and for those who have been traditionally underrepresented in STEM.  As we enter the holiday season and reflect on this past year, I am thankful for the immense support NSF has received with the historic passage of the "CHIPS and Science Act," which, when funded, will enable us to keep American technology innovation on the cutting edge and ensure that the industries that will power the future are made here in America. Congress' investment in America's technological future reflects a recent Pew survey that found 81% of Americans agree that government investments in scientific research are worthwhile.   Lastly, I am excited to share that I have launched an official Twitter account. Follow me @NSFDrPanch for insights into how maintaining global leadership, ensuring accessibility and inclusivity, and advancing the frontiers of research and development will shape the future.  I hope you enjoy this issue of NSF Quarterly: News from the Director as we close out 2022. I wish you a wonderful season filled with warmth and happiness and a new year where innovation happens anywhere and opportunities are everywhere. Sincerely,   Sethuraman Panchanathan Director, National Science Foundation The NSF Impact The work of this year's Nobel recipients is just one example of how NSF's investments improve all of society. Among this year's Nobel laureates, NSF supported the work of scientists and engineers in physics, chemistry, economic sciences, and physiology or medicine. This year's recipients join 253 previous NSF-funded Nobel laureates and their groundbreaking scientific contributions. In the latest article in his LinkedIn series, Director Panch looks at the impact NSF investments have made in those areas. Read more ... Democratizing science through advanced cyberinfrastructure Think back to when you were a kid: Did you ever walk through a field, collect natural specimens and press your small eyes on a microscope to make observations and collect and analyze data? Many Americans are exposed to this sort of rudimentary science as children, when science seems accessible to all – and to some extent, it really is. But today, enormous data sets are shaping nearly every field of science, and sophisticated sensors and high-speed processors are essential to collecting, analyzing and deriving knowledge from Big Data. That means access to many fields of science depends in large part on access to data and data tools. But access is not universal, often limited by a multitude of technical, cultural and geographic barriers. Read more ... The bubble-bursting, causality-revealing awesomeness of randomized controlled trials What are the most efficient ways to change the world for the better? What actions will effectively reduce poverty and illness, minimize violent crime or strengthen community resilience to extreme weather? Many governments and philanthropic organizations in the U.S. and abroad grapple with those tough questions when deciding how best to use the limited resources entrusted to them by taxpayers or donors. Read more ...  Experiments in space will deliver benefits on Earth Science experiments that could advance treatments for heart disease and osteoporosis, develop early warning systems for dangerous mudflows, and lead to more efficient power plants and improved food and personal care products will be conducted aboard the International Space Station, or ISS, where the microgravity environment could offer new insights into solving challenges we face on Earth. Don’t miss our live streams, videos, YouTube Shorts, Discovery Files Radio stories, podcasts, and social media for more about these impactful NSF-supported experiments. Read more ... Vets, non-vets work together to understand PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, can develop after a person experiences a traumatic event, such as a death, a car accident or a sexual assault. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 11% to 20% of veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have PTSD in a given year. For veterans who served in the Gulf War, that rate is about 12%, and for Vietnam veterans it is about 30%. Due to the number of military veterans dealing with PTSD, research in this area continues to grow. Read more ...   Want more? From Earth’s poles to black holes, read more NSF stories about transforming the world through science. Listen and Learn Webcast: Equitable, Effective and Sustainable Public Access Policy In August, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a memo directing the nation's major science-funding agencies to ensure free, immediate and equitable access to the products of federally supported research. The required updates to the policy will have direct and lasting impacts on NSF stakeholders, including researchers, research institutions, scholarly societies, research libraries and the universities they support, and publishers. Active stakeholder engagement is essential to forming a policy that is equitable, sustainable and best serves NSF's broad and diverse community.    Join us for a virtual information and listening session on Nov. 30, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Participants will learn about the history and driving principles of NSF's Public Access Policy and serve as a forum for NSF to hear and appreciate what's on the minds of our stakeholders and discuss opportunities and challenges as we update the policy. Reach out to PublicAccess@nsf.gov with questions and register for the webcast.     Build and Broaden Program Office Hours  Please join the Build and Broaden Program on Nov. 29, Dec. 13 and Dec. 27, 2022, from 2-3 p.m. EDT to discuss questions about the program with the program director. All meetings during office hours are one-on-one. Guests are seen in the order they join. Save the date and access the Zoom link.    Live from Antarctica: All Things Penguins Join researcher Jean Pennycook on Jan. 10, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. EDT live from the Cape Royds penguin colony in Antarctica! A seasoned researcher, Jean is part of a team conducting globally unique demographic studies of Adélie penguins in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. The study uses penguin-borne sensors to evaluate foraging conditions and behavior and environmental conditions on Adélies. Register for the event online.    Search and save the date for other upcoming NSF events. NSF Pinterest  Visit NSF's Pinterest page and access exciting STEM activities, including virtual science trips, early learning apps, citizen science activities, printables like STEM coloring sheets, STEM books and comics, and more.  NSF Speakers Bureau Our science-loving staff want to share their passion and knowledge with you. NSF speakers offer a wealth of knowledge and subject matter expertise in a broad range of science, engineering and STEM research and education topics. Request an NSF speaker to inspire your audience at your next event today!  Scientist Selfie Celebrate the wonder and work of scientists and engineers who transform the world for the better every day in NSF's video series, Scientist Selfie. Get inspired by a few of those STEM game-changers, and who knows, maybe one day you’ll be one of them! Quantum Sensing Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems  Supports interdisciplinary teams of three or more investigators to explore highly innovative, original and potentially transformative research on quantum sensing. Preliminary proposals are due Dec. 16, 2022.  Tribal Colleges and Universities Programs  Supports tribal colleges and universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions to promote STEM research and education to increase the number of Native Americans in STEM careers. Proposal due dates vary.  Build and Broaden Program  This program broadens participation in the social, behavioral and economic sciences through support for research, training and research infrastructure at minority-serving institutions, including partnerships with and among those institutions. Proposals are due Jan. 19, 2023.   Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure   This program prepares, nurtures and grows the national scientific research workforce for creating, utilizing, and supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure to enable and transform fundamental science and engineering research and education and contribute to the nation's overall economic competitiveness and security. Proposals are due Jan. 19, 2023.  Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences  Supports the research of pre-tenure faculty in mathematical and physical sciences at institutions that traditionally do not receive significant NSF funding, such as minority-serving institutions, predominantly undergraduate institutions and R2 universities. Proposals are due Jan. 26, 2023.   Developmental Sciences  This program supports research on the cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural and biological processes involved in human development across the life span — illuminating the developmental processes that support individuals in living productive lives as members of society. Proposals are due Jan. 30, 2023 and July 30, 2023.   Navigating the New Arctic  Supports highly integrated, collaborative research and incubator projects studying how natural, human-built and social systems affect Arctic change and how a changing Arctic will affect local and global systems. Proposals are due Feb. 8, 2023.   Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Change  This program supports use-inspired research that applies knowledge of the rules of life across a broad array of living systems to tackle pressing societal concerns. Proposals are due Feb. 15, 2023.  Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies  This program supports inclusive experiential learning opportunities that provide cohorts of diverse learners with the skills needed to succeed in emerging technology fields. Proposals are due March 2, 2023, for Pivots and Beginnings tracks only.    Pathways into the Earth, Ocean, Polar and Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences  This program supports broadening participation and increasing the number of students pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate degrees by forming STEM Learning Ecosystems that engage students in the study of the Earth, oceans, polar regions and atmosphere. Proposals are accepted anytime.     Search for more NSF funding opportunities in your field and check out NSF 101, our informational series for the science and engineering research community. NSF 101 answers commonly asked questions for applicants who might be new to applying for NSF funding opportunities and want to know more about how to communicate with NSF.     NSF 101: Geographic diversity through EPSCoR | NSF - National Science Foundation Ensuring that every citizen has access to STEM experiences is a critical piece to building an equitable research enterprise. Since 1979, the U.S. National Science Foundation has addressed the need for geographic diversity through EPSCoR. Read more ...

Additional Resources WHO IS NSF? For more than 70 years the U.S National Science Foundation has funded basic research that has transformed our lives. For a glimpse into who we are and what we do, watch this video.   WEBSITE For special resources, galleries and a closer look at our various research areas, visit our website. MOBILE APP For hundreds of exciting videos and high resolution photos from a dozen areas of science, download the NSF Science Zone app.   FACT SHEETS Concise, factual summaries describing NSF at a Glance, By the Numbers, or other science topics, please visit this page.