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National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation

Federal Agency

Appears in 3 stories

Stories

Superhydrophobic materials engineering

New Capabilities

Primary funder of the research

Ships sink when water floods their hulls, but researchers at the University of Rochester have developed aluminum tubes that trap air so effectively they float indefinitely—even riddled with holes. The breakthrough, published in Advanced Functional Materials, uses laser-etched surfaces that mimic how diving bell spiders and fire ants stay buoyant underwater.

Updated 6 days ago

Congress rejects Trump's historic science cuts

Rule Changes

Received $8.75B for FY2026, avoiding proposed 57% cut

For 80 years, federal science funding enjoyed bipartisan protection. Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget proposed ending that consensus, calling for cuts of 57% to the National Science Foundation (NSF), 47% to NASA's science programs, and 40% to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Updated 6 days ago

The Rubin Observatory opens its eye on 20 billion galaxies

New Capabilities

Primary funder and operations overseer

On June 23, 2025, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory released its first images. A 3.2-gigapixel camera, the largest ever built for astronomy, captured 10 million galaxies in a single frame. In just 10 hours of test observations, it found 2,104 asteroids nobody knew existed, including seven near-Earth objects; for the next decade, it will photograph the entire Southern Hemisphere sky every three nights.

Updated May 19