NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

Apr 14 2025 136 ep. 18 mins 49
NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast artwork

This is the Discovery Files Podcast from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Join us as we explore the latest breakthroughs in science, technology and engineering with the researchers making these discoveries. Learn how scientific innovation bolsters the U.S. economy, supports our Nation’s interests around the globe, and improves the lives of Americans.

  Science  Education
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The Role of Artificial Intelligence with Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan

Apr 14 2025 20 mins  
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.

Fentanyl and Illicit Trafficking

Apr 07 2025 18 mins  
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.

Alvin

Jan 20 2025 14 mins  
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.

NSF Engines FARMS

Jan 13 2025 27 mins  
The U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program was established to advance collaborative, use-inspired and translational research and technology development in key technology focus areas across the United States. In this episode of the "NSF's Discovery Files" podcast, Hollie Mackey, CEO of The North Dakota Advanced Agriculture Technology Engine, discusses d

A Look Back at 2024

Jan 06 2025 19 mins  
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 epis

MXenes

Dec 30 2024 24 mins  
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.

Treating Drinking Water

Dec 23 2024 21 mins  
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.

Advancing Laser Technology

Dec 16 2024 17 mins  
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.

Perovskites and Materials Science

Dec 09 2024 19 mins  
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.

Bioengineering Kidneys

Dec 02 2024 22 mins  
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.