The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced an initiative to translate low-dimensional semiconductor technologies from laboratory demonstrations into platforms for U.S. manufacturers to develop and deploy advanced microelectronics.

The NSF Ecosystem for Low-dimensional Electronics: Growth, Assembly, Nanoelectronics, and Translation (NSF ELEGANT) program will position the U.S. for success in translating advanced microelectronics technologies into next-generation capabilities for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, advanced communications, and other key technology areas critical to national security and economic competitiveness.

“NSF ELEGANT aims to de-risk advanced microelectronics manufacturing technology to the point where industry can make a timely, credible, evidence-based commitment to its adoption,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “Sustained industry participation is central to how this program is designed and measured — every performing team’s progress is validated by industry partners at each stage, so the technologies advancing through ELEGANT are the ones manufacturers are ready to adopt.”

Microelectronics powers industry and drives worldwide innovation. However, current microelectronics manufacturing methods are no longer able to keep pace with the demand for smaller-scale microelectronics technologies at the scale needed. The ELEGANT program advances innovation in low-dimension materials for semiconductor manufacturing and simultaneously bridges the gap between laboratory demonstrations and the development of industry-relevant platforms.

To achieve program objectives, NSF released an Other Transaction Agreement Solutions Offering (OTASO) seeking an Ecosystems Coordinator and Expert Performer Teams

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The U.S. National Science Foundation announced today three additional topics for NSF X-Labs as part of the $1.5 billion investment the agency initiated in May, completing the portfolio of topics for calendar year 2026. NSF’s substantial, long-term investment in NSF X-Labs over the next decade aims to tackle pressing scientific and technological challenges through novel and innovative research partnerships.

The latest NSF X-Labs funding opportunity invites proposals in the technical domain of Artificial Intelligence for Physical Systems. NSF is also previewing two additional NSF X-Labs topics for which the agency anticipates inviting proposals later this calendar year: From Sequence to Function and Computation at the Limit of Physics.

“Science is moving faster than ever, and the challenges we face increasingly require new ways of working across disciplines and sectors,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF Director. “NSF X-Labs bring together researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious scientific questions with the flexibility to test new ideas, learn quickly, and adapt along the way. This is part of NSF’s broader effort to build the conditions for exceptional science to happen more often, more quickly and across a wider range of the research community, helping usher in a new era of American discovery and innovation.”

NSF X-Labs — independent teams of researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs pursuing milestone-based federal funding to solve specific scientific challenges

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