NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

Artificial intelligence techniques are driving the development of autonomous vehicles. Madhur Behl, an NSF-supported associate professor, discusses how the high-speed world of racing helps advance safe autonomous vehicles.

In the health care industry, artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced robotic systems could help solve many of the issues facing the field today. Axel Krieger, an NSF-supported associate professor, discusses his work developing autonomous surgical robots.

Artificial intelligence advancements in machine learning are allowing autonomous exploration in remote underwater environments. Katie Skinner, an NSF-supported assistant professor, discusses work advancing the field of robotics by combining computer vision with AI advancements in machine learning.

The future of quantum information science and engineering promises computers with unprecedented speed and capabilities. Miloš Popović, an NSF-supported associate professor, discusses a collaboration that has built a photonic quantum system into a traditional electronic chip.

Critical minerals play an essential role in modern technologies, and a domestic supply is essential for national security. Elizabeth Holley, an NSF-supported associate professor, discusses how domestic supplies might be increased by recovering critical minerals from the byproducts of existing mining sites.

The future of quantum information science and engineering promises computers with unprecedented speed and capabilities. Mikhail Lukin, an NSF-supported professor, discusses his work with neutral atom qubits, why error correction is important in quantum computing, and his journey through starting a company and moving into industry.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported engineers are developing a bold new vision for chemical and materials discovery. Milad Abolhasani, an NSF-supported associate professor, discusses his work developing automated fluidic labs.

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.

Advances in fundamental technologies enable robots to collaborate with humans, as well as with other robots. David Saldaña, assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University, discusses his work developing resilient and adaptive collaborative aerial robots.

Researchers and industry are coming together to develop computer systems that can take advantage of quantum mechanics. Christopher Monroe, a professor at Duke University and co-founder of IonQ, discusses quantum computing, advances in the field and IonQ's journey from startup to being the first publicly traded quantum computing company.

The fourth state of matter, plasma, is involved in several aspects of how modern microelectronic components are manufactured. Jeremiah Williams, a professor at Wittenberg University and a program director at the U.S. National Science Foundation, discusses how plasmas are used in semiconductor manufacturing and how understanding plasma physics spurs industrial innovation.

Metamaterials are a special class of engineered materials, designed to have properties not found in nature. Glaucio Paulino, a professor at Princeton University, discusses his work on developing modular chiral origami metamaterials, engineering control approaches and the ways they might benefit society.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are accelerating artificial intelligence technologies. Mingyi Hong, a professor at the University of Minnesota, with affiliation with AI-LEAF National AI Institute, and an NSF-funded researcher, discusses AI reinforcement learning strategies and the challenges of training experts.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are developing a new class of semiconductors with great potential for next-generation microelectronic devices. Zetian Mi, a professor at the University of Michigan, discusses his group's work with wurtzite ferroelectric nitride semiconductors.

As the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a joint project of the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, begins its mission to unlock new understanding of cosmic phenomena, we visit an archival lecture from its namesake, Vera C. Rubin. In the lecture, she discussed how galaxies form, how you might measure the matter in them and her observations of dark matter.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported observatories allow researchers to advance and expand humanity’s understanding of the early universe. Tobias Marriage, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Yunyang Li, a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Chicago, discuss how they used the NSF Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor to see the cosmic microwave background, light from the beginning of the universe.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are developing a multimodal system that combines image analysis and natural language processing to help manufacturers detect problems, suggest improvements and communicate with machines in real-time. Bingbing Li, a professor at California State University, Northridge, discusses his group's work with vision language models for use in smart manufacturing.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are investigating the mechanisms of cell regeneration for medical treatments. Maksim Plikus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, discusses lipocartilage, how his lab found it and its potential for advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Critical minerals are crucial to both the economy and national security. Rachel Teasdale, a professor at California State University, Chico, and program director in the U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Earth Sciences, discusses how critical minerals and rare earth elements form and how we use them.