RSS feed source: National Science Foundation

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

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: National Science Foundation

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

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: National Science Foundation

Advanced technologies are transforming industry, society, and people’s daily lives. Shelly Zhang, an NSF-supported researcher, discusses her work using additive manufacturing and topology optimization to create new structures, including a 3D thermal cloaking device.

Listen to NSF Discovery Files wherever you get your podcasts.

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: National Science Foundation

The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced a $20 million investment to launch a two-year pilot supporting small businesses in commercializing their deep-technology ventures. The pilot aims to address a persistent gap separating federally funded deep technology research from commercial success. The investment ensures that the U.S. remains at the forefront of global innovation.

“NSF invests in small businesses that bring the most innovative, cutting-edge technologies to the market,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “By helping these companies go further in bridging the so-called ‘valley of death,’ we can build on NSF’s R&D investments and help more breakthrough innovations reach the market, strengthening U.S. competitiveness and economic growth.”

“We are grateful to NSF for its continued confidence in UCF and for the opportunity to help shape the future of research translation and commercialization,” said University of Central Florida (UCF) President Alexander N. Cartwright. “Discovery reaches its greatest potential when it moves beyond the laboratory and improves lives, strengthens industries and creates opportunities. UCF’s National Commercialization and Translation Institute (NCTI) builds on UCF’s growing national leadership in helping promising technologies become products, companies and economic growth. With Central Florida’s extraordinary concentration of talent, industry, and innovation, UCF is well positioned to build a model that can deliver impact for Florida and across the nation.”

Led by UCF’s NCTI, the pilot

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.