NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

Showing: 1-28 of 28 | Search Discoveries

		Understanding How Space Turbulence Works Researcher conducts supercomputer simulations to learn impacts on Earth's magnetic field Released  April 15, 2013
		Advances in Computational Research Transform Scientific Process and Discovery NSF-supported supercomputers enhance union between technology and the human mind Released  March 25, 2013
		Cooking Up Clean Air in Africa Reducing air pollution and meningitis risk in Ghana Released  January 3, 2013
		Tiny Firefly Satellite Set To Flash Straight Into Lightning and Thunderstorms CubeSat will help solve mysteries of terrestrial gamma ray flashes, 1,000 times more powerful than northern lights Released  July 19, 2012
		The Snows of Mount Washington Climate and environmental change in the U.S. northeast corridor Released  March 2, 2012
		Dashing Through the Snow, in a One-truck Radar Dish Scientists study mountain west snowstorms through the eye of the Doppler-on-Wheels Released  December 6, 2011
		A HIPPO Takes to the Skies to Taste Earth's Atmosphere The HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observation (HIPPO) project generated an extraordinarily detailed mapping of the global distribution of greenhouse gases, black carbon and related chemical species in the atmosphere Released  October 25, 2011
		Looking Ahead to Local Climate Models Scientists at George Mason University's Center for Ocean-Land-Atmospheric Studies are working on more accurate climate predictions that will help us plan for the future Released  July 14, 2011
		Tracking the Causes of Space-based Weather Disruptions Scientists use innovative Radio Aurora Explorer satellite to discover conditions that cause disruptions in space-based communication and navigation signals Released  March 16, 2011
		Eye-to-Eye With a Blizzard ...Tornado ... Hurricane A day in the life of the Doppler-on-Wheels Released  December 8, 2010
		Scientists Listen to Song of the Sun The sun is a very noisy place, generating an inferred multi-frequency song comparable to cathedral bells Released  September 28, 2010
		Pollution Speeds up Snow Melt in Europe, Asia NSF-supported climate scientist Mark Flanner and colleagues find differences in the rates for spring warming and snow cover decline in Eurasia and North America, and are studying whether aerosols are a key factor Released  April 30, 2010
		Dust-on-Snow: On Spring Winds, Something Wicked This Way Comes Earlier snowmelt, altered water supplies, result Released  April 2, 2010
		Taking the "Surprise" out of Surprise Solar Storms Scientists are learning to predict giant solar storms that could, at any time, hit the Earth and produce cascading catastrophes Released  March 18, 2010
		Scientists Tackle Climate Model Mystery Researchers trace a problem with a key climate model to its hydrology scheme and find a simpler scheme keeps simulations in line with real-world observations Released  June 19, 2009
		2008: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities that made news last year Released  March 13, 2009
		Water Plays Surprising Role in Climate Change From Hawaii's Mauna Loa, climate scientists measure oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in water vapor to better understand changes in the water cycle Released  February 6, 2009
		'Gone Bats' Over Aeroecology New scientific discipline studies bats, birds and other animals in atmosphere closest to Earth's surface Released  October 28, 2008
		Scientist Keeps Ben Franklin's Legacy Alive Adriana Bailey of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences interviews Yannick Meillier about using kites and aerodynamic blimps in his research Released  April 18, 2008
		Flying Into a Hurricane: A First-Hand Account A NOAA research meteorologist shares what it's like to fly into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane Released  March 27, 2008
		2007: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities reported last year Released  January 30, 2008
		Comet May Have Exploded Over North America 13,000 Years Ago Caused wooly mammoth extinction, global cooling and end of early human Clovis culture Released  August 14, 2007
		2006: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported activities highlighted last year Released  January 9, 2007
		Nation's Most Advanced Research Aircraft Completes First Science Mission Groundbreaking studies could lead to safer air travel Released  July 12, 2006
		A Link Between Rainfall and Magnetism They are nothing alike--except for their underlying mathematics Released  June 29, 2006
		New Mexico Graduate Student Receives Costa Rica's Top Science Honor At 26, Esteban Araya is the youngest person to ever receive the top science award from his native Costa Rica. A graduate student in astronomy at New Mexico Tech, Araya was honored for his research into the formation of massive stars. Released  August 5, 2005
		Of Microbes and Mars Desert microbe discovery has extraterrestrial implications Released  December 17, 2004
		Discovery of Microbursts Leads to Safer Air Travel Researchers investigating several puzzling plane crashes in the mid-1970s identified 'microbursts'--dangerous gusts of wind--as the probable cause. The discovery led to better warning systems and pilot training, and to safer skies. Released  June 25, 2003