NSF funds three STCs with $90M

The U.S. National Science Foundation said on August 26 that it is investing $90 million over five years to support three new Science and Technology Centers. The agency said the centers are meant to back large, collaborative research efforts that link universities, national laboratories, industry and other partners. NSF said the awards are intended to strengthen the STEM workforce and speed work in fields including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fusion energy and robotics. Each center will receive about $6 million annually for an initial five-year period and can later compete for as many as five additional years of support. ### Which centers actually got the money? NSF named three awardees in its August 26 announcement, filling in a detail that was missing from some early summaries. The centers are the Center for Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence, or TEMPEST, led by Michigan State University; a second center focused on biotechnology; and a third focused on robotics, according to the agency’s release, which said the portfolio spans areas from artificial intelligence and biotechnology to fusion energy and robotics. (nsf.gov) Michigan State University’s TEMPEST center is aimed at understanding and controlling turbulence, NSF said. The agency described turbulence as chaotic, multiscale motion in fluids and plasmas that matters for applications including fusion energy and national security. ### Why does NSF use the STC model for awards this large? (nsf.gov) The NSF Science and Technology Centers program is designed for “exceptionally innovative, complex research and education projects” that require large-scale, long-term support, according to the program solicitation. NSF says the centers are built to pursue integrated research that cannot be done as effectively through smaller, single-investigator grants. (nsf.gov) The Office of Integrative Activities says STCs are meant to build strategic partnerships among higher education institutions, government laboratories, industry, nonprofits and other entities. The agency says those partnerships are intended to create new scientific models, develop transformative technologies and train future researchers through research-linked education activities. (nsf.gov) ### How big is this award compared with the overall program? The $90 million package works out to roughly $30 million per center over the first five years. NSF said each center will receive approximately $6 million a year during that initial term. NSF’s fiscal 2026 budget materials said the STC line was expected to support between 13 and 14 existing centers at a request level of $24.49 million. (nsf.gov) That means the newly announced cohort adds a fresh set of large, multi-year commitments inside a program NSF has used since 1987. ### How were these centers selected? NSF posted the current STC solicitation on August 8, 2024. (nsf.gov) The notice said preliminary proposals were due November 20, 2024, and full proposals were due June 2, 2025. The solicitation listed the STC program as an agencywide effort involving the Office of Integrative Activities and multiple NSF directorates, including biological sciences, computer and information science and engineering, engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, STEM education, and international science and engineering. (nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov) (nsf.gov) ### What did NSF say these centers are supposed to produce? Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director, said in the release that U.S. leadership in science and technology requires “bold research, strong partnerships, and a skilled workforce.” He said the centers would help researchers “accelerate scientific discovery” and develop talent and technologies that can turn innovation into practical solutions. (nsf.gov) Since its inception in 1987, the STC program has helped launch new fields of discovery, advance technologies, support startup formation and train researchers, NSF said. The agency’s program page says it is awaiting a new solicitation and is not currently accepting proposals, indicating the next formal milestone will be a future funding notice rather than another immediate competition. (nsf.gov)