NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

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.

As innovation transforms the aerospace, energy and defense industries, new materials with advanced properties are needed to meet the moment. Kiran Solanki, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Arizona State University, discusses designing new materials and enhancing existing ones for extreme condition applications.

Implantable medical devices are creating new therapeutic and monitoring solutions for many complex health conditions. However, wireless medical devices are susceptible to malicious attacks. Kaiyuan Yang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, discusses biomedical security and developing hacker-resistant implants.

QR codes are scanned every day for restaurant menus, parking payments or flight boarding passes, but malicious users can take advantage of the technology for phishing and other criminal activities. Gaurav Sharma and Irving Barron, professors at the University of Rochester, discuss QR code technology and how their research makes it safer.

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Sabbie Miller, an Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, discusses the built environment and optimizing infrastructure materials.

Fundamental science can have a profound impact when discoveries and research are developed into tangible solutions that benefit the public. Ximena Bernal and Pablo Zavattieri, professors at Purdue University, discuss how their research into mosquitoes may translate into bio-inspired sensors that could help save lives.

While artificial intelligence-driven technology is promising practical solutions to global challenges, AI-driven research advances the frontiers of knowledge and propels American ingenuity. Sethuraman Panchanathan, the 15th director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, discusses the current state of AI and the many ways it may be used in the future.

The sustained influx of fentanyl and other illicit drugs has had a profound impact on the lives of Americans. Louise Shelley, a professor emerita at George Mason University, discusses fentanyl, illicit trafficking networks and work on how criminal supply chains are being interrupted by scientific research.

Since 1964, the deep submergence vehicle Alvin has played major roles in sea discovery, from lost hydrogen bombs to hydrothermal vents and the first survey of the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Kaitlyn Beardshear, electrical engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a pilot of Alvin, discuses the submersible's history, sea exploration and discoveries in the ocean's depths.

From advances in the use of artificial intelligence and new guidance into its research to breakthroughs in biological treatments and approaches to healing to how we measure time, discoveries in many areas were revealed by U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers in 2024. As we start a new year, we're looking back at memorable moments from some of the most popular episodes of the last year.

Innovation in materials science allows for the improvement of technologies and the exploration of new ones. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Yury Gogotsi, professor at the Drexel University College of Engineering, discusses how MXenes were discovered and some of the ways they may be used in the future.

Modern Americans benefit from centuries of improvements in drinking water safety. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Julian Fairey, associate professor in the University of Arkansas Department of Civil Engineering, discusses how drinking water is treated and how he helped identify a disinfection byproduct.

New and advanced lasers are necessary to understand the complicated high energy, fast bursts of light occurring at the most extreme conditions in the universe. Franklin Dollar, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, discusses lasers, how they're used to understand physics and how powerful the next generation of lasers will be.  

Materials scientists and engineers are working to develop and advance materials and devices that harvest energy from light, resulting in more efficient solar cell technologies.  In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Aram Amassian, a professor at North Carolina State University, discusses light technologies and developing more efficient perovskite solar cells.

Kidneys are essential for keeping the body functioning but one in seven Americans suffer from kidney disease. Alex Hughes, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the kidney's role in the body, its structure and how his lab is working to grow new kidney tissues.