National Science Foundation
10 reportsThe evidence base around National Science Foundation is examined through merit-review processes, together with competitive research grants and major scientific facilities. Reporting on merit-review processes draws on award records and is then checked against facility outputs; confidence is limited by the fact that funding decisions indicate support for a proposal rather than confirmation of its eventual findings.
Solar Telescope Reveals Long-Predicted Plasma Vortices on Sun's Surface
High-resolution images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have captured thousands of plasma whirlpools on the Sun's surface, providing direct evidence for a phenomenon predicted over a century ago and offering new insight into solar atmospheric heating
Faint X-ray Flash Reveals Unusual Supernova in Nearby Galaxy
A brief X-ray signal detected by China's Einstein Probe in March 2026 has allowed astronomers to observe the earliest moments of a rare Type Ic supernova, offering new insight into how massive stars end their lives
Hybrid Quantum-Classical Testbed Planned at Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
Rigetti Computing, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center will build a hybrid quantum-classical testbed integrating a 9-qubit superconducting processor with high-performance computing infrastructure
UC San Diego Awarded $18M to Advance Quantum Materials Research
UC San Diego has secured $18 million in NSF funding to develop quantum metamaterials and chemically engineered 2D superlattices, shifting its MRSEC center's focus to foundational quantum hardware and workforce training
US Naval Research Lab Sets Quantum Technology Priorities for Defense
The US Naval Research Laboratory has detailed its Quantum Science Institute's operational roadmap, focusing on quantum sensing, computing, networking, and materials to address defense and maritime needs under new federal directives
Quantum Networking Roadmap Reveals Gaps in Scalable Infrastructure
A new roadmap from QED-C and the Center for Quantum Networks details the technical and engineering barriers that limit current quantum networking applications, highlighting the need for advances in switches, repeaters, and satellite links
Rice University Targets Real-Time Quantum Error Correction Decoding
Rice University has joined the Quantum Science Center to develop and test quantum error-correction decoding algorithms for high-performance computing systems, aiming to address the latency and scalability challenges in fault-tolerant quantum computing
IBM Offers Quantum Compute Access for DOE Genesis Mission Research
IBM has pledged $50 million in quantum processor access over five years to support the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, enabling national lab and academic researchers to run experiments on utility-scale superconducting quantum hardware
Astronomers Warn of Night Sky Risks From Sun-Reflecting Satellite
A private company has received regulatory approval to launch a satellite equipped with a large reflective surface, aiming to direct sunlight to Earth after dark. Astronomers and scientific organizations are raising concerns about the impact on astronomical observations and public safety.
AI agents build complex 3D training worlds for robot learning
Researchers at MIT and Toyota Research Institute have developed SceneSmith, a system that uses collaborative AI agents and vision-language models to generate detailed 3D environments for robotics simulation and training