NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast
Episodes
Electronic Photonic Quantum Chip
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The future of quantum information science and engineering promises computers with unprecedented speed and capabilities. Miloš Popović, an NSF-suppor...
Recovering Critical Minerals
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Critical minerals play an essential role in modern technologies, and a domestic supply is essential for national security. Elizabeth Holley, an NSF-su...
Quantum Error Correction
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The future of quantum information science and engineering promises computers with unprecedented speed and capabilities. Mikhail Lukin, an NSF-supporte...
Accelerating Discovery with Self Driving Labs
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported engineers are developing a bold new vision for chemical and materials discovery. Milad Abolhasani, an NSF-s...
Introducing AI to the future workforce
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A workforce fluent in AI techniques will be essential to ensure U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence continues. Jeremy Waisome, an assistant pro...
Collaborative Aerial Robots
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Advances in fundamental technologies enable robots to collaborate with humans, as well as with other robots. David Saldaña, assistant professor in th...
Quantum Computing in Industry
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers and industry are coming together to develop computer systems that can take advantage of quantum mechanics. Christopher Monroe, a professor...
Plasmas in Manufacturing
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth state of matter, plasma, is involved in several aspects of how modern microelectronic components are manufactured. Jeremiah Williams, a pro...
Metamaterials
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Metamaterials are a special class of engineered materials, designed to have properties not found in nature. Glaucio Paulino, a professor at Princeton ...
Training Artificial Intelligence Experts
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are accelerating artificial intelligence technologies. Mingyi Hong, a professor at the Universi...
Next Generation Ferroelectric Semiconductors
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are developing a new class of semiconductors with great potential for next-generation microelec...
The Matter in the Universe with Vera Rubin
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
Light From Cosmic Dawn
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported observatories allow researchers to advance and expand humanity’s understanding of the early universe. Tob...
Smart Manufacturing
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are developing a multimodal system that combines image analysis and natural language processing...
Lipocartilage and Regenerative Medicine
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers are investigating the mechanisms of cell regeneration for medical treatments. Maksim Plikus, a ...
Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Critical minerals are crucial to both the economy and national security. Rachel Teasdale, a professor at California State University, Chico, and progr...
Breakthrough Copper Alloy
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As innovation transforms the aerospace, energy and defense industries, new materials with advanced properties are needed to meet the moment. Kiran Sol...
Biomedical Security
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Implantable medical devices are creating new therapeutic and monitoring solutions for many complex health conditions. However, wireless medical device...
QR Code Security
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
QR codes are scanned every day for restaurant menus, parking payments or flight boarding passes, but malicious users can take advantage of the technol...
Built Environment Materials
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Sabbie Miller, an Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, dis...
Translational Research
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fundamental science can have a profound impact when discoveries and research are developed into tangible solutions that benefit the public. Ximena Ber...
The Role of Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
While artificial intelligence-driven technology is promising practical solutions to global challenges, AI-driven research advances the frontiers of kn...
Fentanyl and Illicit Trafficking
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 G...
Alvin
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Since 1964, the deep submergence vehicle Alvin has played major roles in sea discovery, from lost hydrogen bombs to hydrothermal vents and the first s...
NSF Engines FARMS
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program was established to advance collaborative, use-inspired and translational rese...
A Look Back at 2024
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From advances in the use of artificial intelligence and new guidance into its research to breakthroughs in biological treatments and approaches to he...
MXenes
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Innovation in materials science allows for the improvement of technologies and the exploration of new ones. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Fi...
Treating Drinking Water
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Modern Americans benefit from centuries of improvements in drinking water safety. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Julian Faire...
Advancing Laser Technology
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New and advanced lasers are necessary to understand the complicated high energy, fast bursts of light occurring at the most extreme conditions in the ...
Perovskites and Materials Science
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Materials scientists and engineers are working to develop and advance materials and devices that harvest energy from light, resulting in more efficien...
Bioengineering Kidneys
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Kidneys are essential for keeping the body functioning but one in seven Americans suffer from kidney disease. Alex Hughes, assistant professor of bioe...
History Trapped In Ice
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ice cores allow scientists to reconstruct climate conditions far into the past. Peter Neff, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Depa...
Leonid Meteor Shower
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every fall, the Leonid meteor shower puts on an amazing display with observers counting numbers from thousands to tens of thousands of meteors per hou...
Perspectives in STEM
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will require many perspectives to achieve its utmost potential. Keivan Stassun, profes...
Concrete Designs
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Advances in materials science and rapidly developing technologies are leading to new approaches to engineering concretes and building infrastructure. ...
National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The world of artificial intelligence is changing the way people live, work and think. This new frontier is also shifting the world of scientific resea...
Biology and Living Systems
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To advance the understanding of complex living systems, research must have an integration of scientific disciplines. Pankaj Jaiswal, a program officer...
Global Artificial Intelligence Research Agenda (Part 2)
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An interagency effort has crafted a document to support the entire artificial intelligence research ecosystem, from foundational discoveries to socie...
Bioplastics from Bacteria
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Plastics are foundational in modern life, but only a fraction of those produced are recycled. WashU researchers Arpita Bose, associate professor of b...
Global Artificial Intelligence Research Agenda
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An interagency effort has crafted a document to serve as a starting point to align an international artificial intelligence research vision. Michael ...
Building Stuff
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Engineering is critical in modern society, from building bridges and homes to designing computers and life-saving medical devices. Nehemiah Mabry, a s...
Optical Transparency with Food Dye
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Imaging is central to biology and medicine, but light refracts and scatters as it hits tissues and lipids. Zihao Ou, associate professor of physics at...
Wall of Wind
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At the U.S. National Science Foundation Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Wall of Wind Experimental Facility, researchers seek to be...
Merlin
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
People who enjoy birdwatching can provide valuable citizen science observation. An application called Merlin Bird ID can help users of all experience ...
Quantum for All
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A quantum-educated workforce will be essential in the future; however, most students are not introduced to quantum mechanics until taking physics cour...
Do Elephants Use Language?
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
More than 8 million species call Earth home, but we only understand the language of one. Mickey Pardo, a postdoctoral associate at the K. Lisa Yang Ce...
Hurricane Warnings
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dangerous storms such as hurricanes can cause billions of dollars in damage and cost hundreds to thousands of lives. Rebecca Morss, a senior scientis...
Robotic Interaction
05 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As next-generation technologies, such as robots, are developed, operational challenges come to light that need specialized solutions. Hao Zhang, assoc...
Engaging Alaska Native Students in STEM
29 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The future of the nation's leadership in science and technology discovery requires the engagement of diverse groups of students in the science, techno...
Optimizing the Electric Grid
22 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Electricity is the backbone of modern civilization and the increased demand due to extreme weather-related events is causing system failures and black...
Developing Semiconductors
15 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Semiconductors are the backbone of modern electronics and energy-efficient ones will be critical for the future of artificial intelligence and quantum...
Thorium Nuclear Clock
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Time is used to set many standards by counting a periodic event with a known frequency. Eric Hudson, a professor in the department of physics and ast...
Maui Fire Coastal Ecosystem Resilience
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On August 8, 2023, a devastating fire swept through the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Andrea Kealoha, an assistant professor, and S...
Acoustic Fibers
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From traffic to TVs and portable devices, people are surrounded by unwanted noise. Grace Yang, who worked on her doctoral degree as part of the fiber ...
Imageomics
17 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most living creatures reveal themselves visually and are routinely photographed by humans from all walks of life. What if researchers could use those ...
Songbird Migration
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every year, songbirds across the United States make the arduous journey south to warmer winter climates and back again. But what behaviors, environmen...
Mysterious Return of Atlantic Surfclams
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1990s, Atlantic surf clams largely died off in their southernmost range off the coast of Virginia. Daphne Munroe, associate professor at the Ru...
Repurposing Carbon Dioxide
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide act like an atmospheric blanket, but what if society could capture and repurpose those gases into useful produ...
Cicadas
20 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This year billions of cicadas will emerge as the annual varieties are joined by the periodic Brood XIX and Brood XIII species that pop up every 13 and...
Mayan Archeology
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Prior to European arrival, the Maya peoples built a civilization in the inhospitable lowland jungles of Middle America. David Lentz, professor of bio...
Black Hole Questions
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Advancing tools and techniques are revealing more about black holes, but they also raise more questions that continue to capture the imaginations of p...
Clarifying Quantum Information
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With applications across the sciences and beyond, quantum information science is revolutionizing the world around us. We are joined by Scott Aaronson,...
Biofilm Resistance
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over six million people get bacterial infections that develop into biofilms every year, but what if you could cut off the bacteria before infection oc...
Graphene Health Monitor
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tattoos have been a part of human culture for a very long time, but what if your tattoo could help diagnose your health? We are joined by Dmitry Kiree...
Citizen CATE 2024
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For a few minutes on April 8, when the moon passed between the sun and Earth, millions of people in the path of totality from Maine to Texas experienc...
Total Solar Eclipse
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On April 8, parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico will experience a total solar eclipse. We are joined today by Carrie Black, a program office...
Smart Dope Quantum Dots
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In chemistry, advances in artificial intelligence are allowing automated and self-driving labs to quickly realize complex experiments while providing ...
Solar Weather Astronomy
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Using cutting-edge tools such as the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, astronomers can study the sun as never before. We are joined by Maria Kazache...
Pluripotent Polymers
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Plastics have historically been developed to be optimal for a specific use, but what if a single material could be made flexible for one application o...
Crocodilia
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Crocodilian species first appeared during the Mesazoic era 252-66 million years ago and have since adapted to survive changing environments and mass e...
STEM and Downtown Boxing Gym
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since 2007, Detroit's Downtown Boxing Gym has provided a free academic and athletic program to students aged 8-18, where they have seen long-term, lif...
Quantum Computing
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Quantum information science is a rapidly advancing field. The unique possibilities that quantum phenomena offer will create breakthroughs in areas suc...
ZEUS and the Frontier of Laser Science
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) is the highest power laser system in the United State...
Geographic Information Science
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From weather apps to maps, geographic information systems (GIS) are the computer-based tools that drive many modern-day conveniences. The U.S. Nationa...
Macrophages and Cancer
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the immune system, white blood cells help protect the body from viruses and bacteria. A subset known as macrophages offer great promise for cancer ...
Tyrannosaurids
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Since the discovery of incomplete dinosaur skeletons in the early 1800s, the collective knowledge about these creatures that roamed the Earth millions...
Lasers and Extreme Ultraviolet Light
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Light catches the imagination and raises questions about phenomena such as rainbows or why the sky is blue from an early age. We are joined by Frankli...
Advancing Computational Chemistry
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Center for Computer Assisted Synthesis is developing data science tools and computational workflows that aim to...
A Look Back at 2023
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From the Viking age to a Cold War military installation revealing insights into the ice age, advances in artificial intelligence, and looks at black h...
Searching for Technosignatures
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Humans have always looked up to the sky and wondered about the stars and what life may be out there. Astronomers are using tools such as the U.S. Nati...
Listening To Giants
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Blue whales are the largest animals to ever inhabit the planet and were hunted to near extinction in the era of commercial whaling. Since the 1960's, ...
Demonstrating Potential
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) has helped ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scient...
Microplastics in the Environment
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ubiquity of plastic materials in modern life has meant that plastic debris can be found everywhere. A subset of these environmental contaminates,...
At the Edge of Artificial Intelligence
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation has invested over half a billion dollars to establish the National AI Research Institutes. We are joined by D.K. ...
The History Makers
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The HistoryMakers is the world's largest searchable oral history archive, featuring the first-person accounts of over 3,000 African American people fr...
The Frontier of Artificial Intelligence
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. National Science Foundation has invested over half a billion dollars to establish the National AI Research Institutes. We are joined by Aarti...
Unwrapping Heritage Science
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A team of researchers at the NSF-supported EduceLab are working to revolutionize digital restoration. They are investigating the Herculaneum Scrolls, ...
Insects Scent
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Insects play vital roles in the ecosystem, but some species can be pests and home infestations can raise serious health issues. Coby Schal, a professo...
Harnessing Thermal Energy
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is approaching the grand problem of energy by developing thermal energy batteries. Asegun Henry is a professor in the Massachusetts Inst...
Volcanic Eruption and Lava Flow
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An understanding of the structure, composition and processes involved in erupting volcanoes and the ways lava flow can help better mitigate the effect...
The Sun and Eclipses
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eclipses have captured the imagination throughout history. Carrie Black, a program director in the Division of Astronomical Sciences at the U.S. Natio...
Experimenting with Antimatter
01 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Timothy Tharp, assistant professor at Marquette University; Danielle Hodgkinson, postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley; and Andrew...
Breakthrough: Gravity’s Effect on Antimatter
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus (ALPHA) collaboration is an international group working with antihydrogen atoms at the European Organization ...
Antimatter Explained
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of a special announcement coming later this week, Kevin M. Jones, the William Edward McElfresh Professor of Physics Emeritus at Williams College...
Cattle in the Americas
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States there are over 95 million heads of cattle, but their known history stretches beyond the farms and cowboys of the Wild West back i...
Secrets of the Storm
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Airborne Phased Array Radar will provide a generational leap in severe storm and climate research. Wen-Chau Lee, APAR chief scientist and senior scien...
Impacts in Sports
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After an incident as a young water polo player, Nicholas Cecchi began investigating brain injury. We’ll hear about how an early study resulted in a ...
Shape of Lithium
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Yuzhang Li, assistant professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at UCLA, is working to create the next generation of batteries. We'll learn ...
Revealing Cryptofauna
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptofauna are creatures that live hidden among microhabitats. Our guest is Paul Sikkel, a research professor at the University of Miami’s Rosensti...
Forests in a Changing Climate
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
William Anderegg, director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and associate professor in The University of Utah School of Biologica...