Science Matters

Leader of AI breakthroughs, champion of innovation and inclusivity

June 23, 2020

Meet Sethuraman Panchanathan, 15th Director of the National Science Foundation

An illustrated woman in a white lab coats points to a poster with an illustrated DNA double helix and graph

Four tips for applying to NSF’s CAREER program

June 23, 2020

You banked years of late nights in the lab crunching data and grading papers. You successfully defended your dissertation, maybe completed a postdoc, and applied to every single faculty job you could…

White and brown streams of light are seen in front of a night sky. To the right is a white domed building.

Virtual summer road trip: Visit NSF's cutting-edge science facilities without leaving home

June 16, 2020

Are you daydreaming of the perfect summer trip? Are you looking for things to do inside, as the dog days of summer approach? The National Science Foundation supports research facilities across the…

Ocean research vessel, the Sikuliaq, in the Northern Gulf of Alaska

Ocean research in the time of COVID-19: Expedition to the Gulf of Alaska keeps vital research and data collection on course

June 12, 2020

It was an oceanographic research cruise that, as scientist Russ Hopcroft of the University of Alaska Fairbanks says, "was just plain strange." Like almost everything this spring. National Science…

A man smiles slightly as he stares at a large computer screen that displays a multicolored model of a virus

#NSFstories: Leading an army of citizen scientists in the fight against COVID-19

June 10, 2020

For computational biophysicist Gregory Bowman, sleep these days is hard to come by. Since turning his research team’s attention to the fight against COVID-19, life for this leader of the largest crowd…

a school of fish swims over a coral reef

10 NSF-funded discoveries that help us understand our oceans and waterways

June 1, 2020

Join us as NSF celebrates our nation’s oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes for National Ocean Month

Ice floats on top of a body of water in front of a pink sky

Life on the ice during a pandemic: Keeping science in Antarctica going and the continent COVID-19-free

May 26, 2020

It is hard to imagine a location that has not been touched by the pandemic currently sweeping the globe, reordering our daily lives and collective priorities. It might come as a surprise, though, that…

A microscope is shown with a cutaway to a illustration of the SARS-COVID-2 virus

RAPID responders: How NSF support is enabling the fight against COVID-19 in real time

May 20, 2020

When a disaster or emergency strikes, first responders answer the call. The COVID-19 global pandemic has shown that scientists and engineers are part of this essential group. Everything from vaccine…

Acting NSF director Kelvin Droegemeier sits at an early supercomputer known as Cray-1 located at NCAR.

#NSFStories: From chasing storms to shaping science policy

May 14, 2020

Most of us get a glimpse of the future every day. It's usually a green or yellow blob -- though sometimes blue or purple in the winter -- slowly oozing over a weather map of your local area letting…

Two small children look at a colorful exhibit in a museum

7 NSF-funded museums and science centers offering virtual experiences to enjoy from your home

May 14, 2020

Though museums and science centers across the nation may have closed their doors due to COVID-19, there are still ways to enjoy their exhibitions. Museums, science centers, zoo, aquariums, and other…