NSF’s Discovery Files Podcast

Forests in a Changing Climate

William Anderegg, director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy and associate professor in The University of Utah School of Biological Sciences, joins to discuss how forest ecosystems are reacting to climate change. He is a 2023 recipient of the Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation's highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.

Wildfires in a Changing Climate

Extreme weather events are increasing every year and wildfires are getting worse. We speak with Phil Higuera, a professor of fire ecology at the University of Montana, to explore the causes and consequences of wildfires and how they are impacting people and the environment.

I Am STEM

A major initiative at the NSF, is broadening participation in STEM. Our guest today, Natalie S. King, a science educator at Georgia State University founded the I AM STEM program in 2017 which has served over 2,000 K-12 children and their families across 22 U.S. States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Her work was recently recognized with the Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation’s highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.

Revolutionizing Cancer Screening

A new integrated HPV DNA screening platform could transform cervical cancer screening around the globe. We'll speak with Kathryn Kundrod, who helped develop the test as an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipient at Rice University, to learn about the challenges with cancer screening and how researchers are working to prevent it.

Self-Healing Skin

A new polymer-based material with electrical and magnetic properties that can autonomously heal itself has been demonstrated by NSF-supported chemical engineers at Stanford University.  We speak with co-author Christopher B. Cooper to learn more about this innovative work being done at the Stanford Nano Shared Facilities.

Gravitational Waves With Kip Thorne

Thanks to the efforts of the NSF-Supported Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center scientists have confirmed the existence of gravitational waves.  We are joined by Kip Thorne, to hear about his role in the detection of gravitational waves, his experience being awarded a Nobel Prize and how time travel might be possible.

Gravitational Waves Announcement

Thanks to the efforts of the U.S. National Science Foundation's NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center a new milestone in gravitational wave detection can be revealed. We speak with Stephen Taylor of Vanderbilt University; Maura McLaughlin of West Virginia University; and Xavier Siemens of Oregon State University, to learn more about their breakthrough.

Black Holes and Space Breakthroughs

From black holes and fast repeating bursts to James Webb Space Telescope breakthroughs and the search for extraterrestrial life, space has been a hot topic this past year. Joe Pesce, an astrophysicist with the U.S. National Science Foundation, joins us to talk about all things space in a special episode recorded live.

Creating Accessibility

The University of Washington's Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE) is working towards a world with fewer problems and more solutions for people with disabilities. We are joined by CREATE collaborators Jennifer Mankoff and Heather Feldner to hear about their projects and the difference they are making.

Camp Century Cores

During the Cold War, a U.S. military installation called Camp Century was carved out of the ice sheet in Greenland. One of the camp’s projects was drilling a near mile-long ice core, which in the subsequent decades went missing. We are joined by Paul Bierman, a geologist and professor at the University of Vermont, who will tell us about the secretive base, where the missing ice core was found and the staggering discovery he found at the bottom of the core.