NSF Funded Research News
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jan-2026 23:11 ET (3-Jan-2026 04:11 GMT/UTC)
Seismology meets botany: Utah geologist applies vibration science to saguaros
University of UtahPeer-Reviewed Publication
Research uses low-cost, light-weight earthquake-monitoring tools to measure how towering cacti resonate in response to wind and ground motion. University of Utah geologist Jeff Moore unlocks the dynamic properties and structural properties of saguaro without harming them.
- Journal
- American Journal of Botany
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
Can honey bee-inspired research make electric grids more resilient?
Penn StateGrant and Award Announcement
What do honey bees and electric power grids have in common? More than you might think, according to Wangda Zuo, professor of architectural engineering at Penn State. Zuo is leading a new project funded by a $1 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate how coordinating and controlling distributed energy resources — similar to how honey bees regulate their colony’s resources — may help improve the distribution resiliency of electric grids.
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
AI-powered model predicts floods, improves water management worldwide
Penn StatePeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
USF study: AI and citizen science reveal potential first detection of invasive malaria mosquito in Madagascar
University of South FloridaPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Insects
- Funder
- NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Science Foundation
Understanding water-soluble polymers in wastewater
Lehigh UniversityGrant and Award Announcement
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
How people learn computer programming
Society for NeurosciencePeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- JNeurosci
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
Researchers watched students’ brains as they learned to program
Johns Hopkins UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
Computer programming powers modern society and enabled the AI revolution but little is known about how our brains learn this essential skill. To help answer that question, Johns Hopkins University researchers studied the brain activity of university students before and after they learned how to code.
- Journal
- JNeurosci
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
Text-based system speeds up hospital discharges to long-term care
Cornell UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
- Funder
- Gates Millenium Scholar Program, U.S. National Science Foundation, Amazon, Queen’s Medical Center
- Meeting
- Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing
Stillbirths in the U.S. higher than previously reported, often occur with no clinical risk factors
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthPeer-Reviewed Publication
Stillbirths occur at a higher rate in the U.S. than previously reported, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mass General Brigham. The researchers also found that, while most stillbirths had at least one identified clinical risk factor, a substantial share had none, particularly those occurring at 40+ weeks gestation.
- Journal
- JAMA
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation