NSF's Discovery Files

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide act like an atmospheric blanket, but what if society could capture and repurpose those gases into useful products? Burcu Gurkan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering department at Case Western Reserve University, joins this episode to discuss electrochemical methods of carbon capture, how the resulting products might be used and

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 17 years. Allen Moore, division director for the Division of Environmental Biology at the U.S. National Science Foundation, joins to discuss cicadas and answer some questions about these mysterious insects.

Prior to European arrival, the Maya peoples built a civilization in the inhospitable lowland jungles of Middle America. David Lentz, professor of biological sciences and executive director at the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies, joins to discuss his archeological findings from ancient Mayan cities.

Advancing tools and techniques are revealing more about black holes, but they also raise more questions that continue to capture the imaginations of people everywhere. Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist with the U.S. National Science Foundation, joins to answer some popular questions.

With applications across the sciences and beyond, quantum information science is revolutionizing the world around us. We are joined by Scott Aaronson, Schlumberger Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin and director of its Quantum Information Center, to discuss quantum computers, how to understand quantum mechanics and how artificial intelligence is misunder

Over six million people get bacterial infections that develop into biofilms every year, but what if you could cut off the bacteria before infection occurs? We are joined by Amber Doiron, assistant professor in the University of Vermont Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, to discuss developing biofilm-resistant wound dressings, the problems with treating bacteria, a

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 Kireev, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to discuss developing graphene biosensors, how they're like a tattoo, and how this technology may impact the future of health monitoring.

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 experienced a total solar eclipse. We are joined today by Amir Caspi, a principal scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, who explains the Citizen Continental-America Telescope Eclipse 2024 and his role in the project, the unique opport

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 officer in the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences Division; Alain Brizard, a professor of physics at Saint Michael's College; and Maria Kazachenko, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Astrophysical & Planetary Science de

In chemistry, advances in artificial intelligence are allowing automated and self-driving labs to quickly realize complex experiments while providing new avenues for exploration. We are joined by Milad Abolhasani, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at North Carolina State University to hear about how he developed Smart Dope, a self-driving fluidic lab, and