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The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) on Friday announced the launch of a new initiative designed to launch and scale a new generation of independent research organizations. These organizations will focus on technical challenges and bottlenecks that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily solve on their own. NSF seeks feedback on this initiative through a Request for Information (RFI).

“As scientific challenges have become more complex and dependent upon the work of cross-disciplinary teams of experts, our nation must expand its scientific funding toolkit to adapt,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF TIP Assistant Director. “Tech Labs will provide entrepreneurial teams of proven scientists the freedom and flexibility to pursue breakthrough science at breakneck speed, without needing to frequently stop and apply for additional grant funding with each new idea or development.”

The NSF TIP Tech Labs initiative is grounded in the recognition that many of the technology acceleration and translation challenges of today require new approaches with coordinated, interdisciplinary teams to achieve success. The Tech Labs initiative will support full-time teams of researchers, scientists, and engineers who will enjoy operational autonomy and milestone-based funding as they pursue technical breakthroughs that have the potential to reshape or create entire technology sectors. Tech Labs teams will move beyond traditional research outputs (e.g., publications and datasets), with sufficient resources, financial

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The U.S. National Science Foundation is investing approximately $30 million in institutions across Montana, Idaho and Louisiana to establish NSF EPSCoR Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (NSF EPSCoR CREST Centers). These centers aim to expand STEM knowledge, enhance research productivity and attract more students from those regions into STEM fields.

Montana

Montana Technological University will establish the Center for Energy Technologies, a research hub focusing on energy systems. The researchers aim to develop tools that can be deployed locally to convert biomass, like beetle-killed trees, into biochar and renewable energy, such as heat and electricity.

Idaho

Boise State University will launch the Center for Advancing Workforce Experience through Semiconductors, Outreach, and Mentoring Excellence. The center aims to transform education at the university by integrating semiconductor science into classroom experiences.

Louisiana

Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center New Orleans will establish the Center for Adaptive Nanomotor Development, combining nanomotor research with workforce development to encourage the development of critical technologies in molecular design, energy transduction and motor proteins.

Additionally, LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport will establish the Center for Post-Transcriptional Regulation — an innovative, interdisciplinary research center focusing on how cells regulate metabolism through post-transcriptional processes. The work will explore the role of RNA molecules and protein modifications in metabolic control, potentially paving the way for biotechnological innovations and translational applications.

“These new centers are an important way to

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The U.S. National Science Foundation and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) are investing in eight joint research projects that could open the door to breakthroughs in quantum computing, ultra-precise navigation and secure communications. The effort is supported by $4.7 million from NSF and £4.2 million from UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Each project brings together U.S. and U.K. researchers to tackle an underexplored area in science: how quantum information affects chemical reactions and molecular systems, and how that knowledge can be put to use.

By harnessing the inherent complexity of chemical systems, the teams aim to surpass today’s quantum technologies, which primarily rely on atoms and photons. The partnership underscores the growing international momentum in quantum research, with the potential to create new and different types of molecular-based qubits and other fundamental components useful for quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum communications.

“Through a dynamic partnership, the U.S. National Science Foundation and UKRI are uniting top researchers to unravel the mysteries of quantum in chemical systems,” said White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios. “Building upon the President’s U.S.-UK Technology Prosperity Deal, this visionary partnership will reshape our knowledge of quantum mechanics and open new frontiers in quantum computing, sensing, and communicating.”

“By supporting bold, collaborative science, this partnership lays the foundation for advances that can transform

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The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program announced 15 finalists advancing to the next stage of the program’s second competition — spanning critical technologies and applications ranging from enhancing energy grid security to maximizing the yield of critical minerals mining extraction to advancing quantum computing. The finalist teams, many of whom have been building their regional coalitions for a year or longer, are led by a range of organizations, including universities, nonprofits and private industry from across the United States. View a map of the NSF Engines finalists.