RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

AUSTIN, Texas – Homeowners, renters and businesses that sustained damage or losses from the July storms and flooding in Central Texas have just two weeks to apply for federal disaster assistance. 

Ten counties are designated for federal assistance for the July 2-18 floods: Burnet, Guadalupe, Kerr, Kimble, McCulloch, Menard, San Saba, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson.

There is no cost to apply for FEMA assistance and our specialists offer free guidance on available aid, including money to help with housing repairs or replacement of damaged appliances and furnishings.  

The last day to apply for FEMA disaster assistance is Thursday, Sept. 4, and you will need your email address to apply. This is also the deadline to apply for a long-term, low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. 

FEMA works closely with the Small Business Administration, which provides disaster loans to homeowners, renters, nonprofit organizations and businesses of all sizes.

Keep in mind that applying for federal disaster assistance is not the same as reporting your damage to the state. Reporting disaster damage to the Texas Division of Emergency Management at damage.tdem.texas.gov helps officials connect you with resources and services.

The fastest way to apply for FEMA assistance is online at DisasterAssistance.gov. You may also use the FEMA mobile app or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Lines are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT daily. If you use a relay service,

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RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a partnership with NVIDIA to develop a set of artificial intelligence models that will transform the ability of America’s scientists to leverage AI, advancing scientific discovery and ensuring U.S. leadership in AI-powered research and innovation. NSF will contribute $75 million, with NVIDIA providing an additional $77 million, to support the Open Multimodal AI Infrastructure to Accelerate Science (OMAI) project, led by the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2). The collaboration will create a fully open suite of advanced AI models specifically designed to support the U.S. scientific community.

This public-private investment advances priorities set forth in the White House AI Action Plan to accelerate AI-enabled science and ensure the United States is producing the leading open models that enhance America’s global AI dominance.

“Bringing AI into scientific research has been a game changer,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “NSF is proud to partner with NVIDIA to equip America’s scientists with the tools to accelerate breakthroughs. These investments are not just about enabling innovation; they are about securing U.S. global leadership in science and technology and tackling challenges once thought impossible.”

The development of AI technologies is advancing rapidly, but the cost of creating and researching powerful AI models has grown beyond the budgets of university labs and federally funded researchers. This growing divide limits the

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A workforce fluent in AI techniques will be essential to ensure U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence continues. Jeremy Waisome, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, discusses the Shark AI project, which has introduced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to thousands of middle school students.

Listen to NSF Discovery Files wherever you get your podcasts.

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RSS feed source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced six major awards through its EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (FEC), investing $29.2 million across 11 jurisdictions to strengthen research capacity and drive translational research across the nation.

These four-year awards aim to catalyze transformative research and infrastructure enhancement in states historically underfunded in federal research. The selected projects span critical areas, including use-inspired research in the study of Earth systems, wildfire management, water resource management, ecosystem and human health risks, functionality of electronic devices, biotechnology and artificial intelligence-driven health care.

“These EPSCoR FEC awards are an example of NSF’s commitment to ensuring that all states and jurisdictions across the United States have the opportunity to be part of our research enterprise and benefit from the jobs and economic prosperity that result from American innovation,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “These multi-state collaborative teams are tackling real-world research challenges that matter to the citizens of their regions while also building competitive research environments for the entire nation.”

This year’s FEC awards include:

Optical properties of mineral dust aerosols: Building capacity for use-inspired applications through experimental and theoretical investigations (Nevada System of Higher Education – Desert Research Institute, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus and University of Wyoming) Mineral dust aerosols are significant in the atmosphere, affecting radiative forcing, ecosystem fertilization,

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