Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) Discoveries

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.

 Get MPS Discoveries Updates by Email |  What is RSS?

Page: Previous | Next (Showing: 1-30 of 113) | Search Discoveries

		Safer Nano Cancer Detector Nanoparticle test in mice could pave the way for human uses Released  April 30, 2009
		Improved Lithium Ion Battery Technology Could Fast-Charge Electric Vehicles, Boost Acceleration "Beltway" coating on cathode eases ions' way into crystalline tunnels Released  April 22, 2009
		A Better Mass for the W Boson; Higgs Boson Given Less Space to Hide Analyzing several years' worth of results from Fermilab's Tevatron collider, physicists come up with the most accurate measurement to date of the mass of the W boson, and narrow down the possible mass of the still undiscovered Higgs boson Released  April 7, 2009
		Squeezing Noise Below Quantum Limits Exquisitely sensitive microwave amplifier increases nano-scale measurement accuracy; could lead to quantum computing breakthroughs Released  March 26, 2009
		A Beautiful Memory Breakthrough in "entanglement" demonstrates potential of quantum information science Released  March 17, 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
		New Record for World's Smallest Letters Stanford University breaks record set in 1991, promises denser information storage Released  March 10, 2009
		Shockwave of X-ray Starquake Enthralls Scientists For postdoctoral researcher Andrew Steiner and other astrophysicists, the shockwave that jolted the Earth in late December 2005 was a lucky find, providing new data on neutron stars Released  March 2, 2009
		How to Teleport Quantum Information from One Atom to Another Researchers have shown for the first time how to use a process called teleportation to transfer a quantum state over a significant distance from one atom to another Released  February 25, 2009
		Excited Atoms Advance Quantum Computing Scientists using a single atom to control another with the Rydberg Blockade principle have moved a step closer to unimaginable computing power Released  February 24, 2009
		Electrical Nanowires Probe Individual Cells Radically new technology for studying and controlling cells at the nanoscale Released  February 20, 2009
		Reflecting on the Many Uses of Glass The director of NSF's International Materials Institute for New Functionality in Glass at Lehigh University focuses on glass research and exciting students from underrepresented groups about glass science and engineering Released  February 20, 2009
		Nanoscale Repulsion Tiny quantum force, measured for the first time, could be an aid to nanodevice designers Released  February 19, 2009
		Measuring Excitement for Carbon Nanotubes Studying light pulses in nanoscale molecules brings scientists closer to understanding properties that may lead to a multitude of applications Released  February 10, 2009
		Did You Say Flexible Electronics? Organic electronic devices possible with supercritical carbon dioxide process Released  February 2, 2009
		New Galactic Distance Measurements Increase Milky Way's Mass and Rotation Speed Galaxy is spinning faster and is 50 percent more massive than earlier studies indicated Released  January 30, 2009
		Pore-free Ceramics Shine New Light on Lasers, Electronics and Biomedical Implants Novel process for developing transparent ceramics from powder eliminates pores Released  January 29, 2009
		Cheaper Plastic Solar Cells in the Works South Dakota State University’s Diane Hinkens describes her work in an interdisciplinary research collaboration that is trying to design, synthesize and eventually fabricate a more efficient and less costly solar cell Released  January 13, 2009
		For the "Few-Body Problem," a Solution From Another Plane Complex ionization collisions can be explained with a "simple" classical model Released  December 29, 2008
		Fake Drugs Exposed by Rapid Chemical Assay Forensic chemistry leads to shut down of large-scale drug counterfeiting operation in Southeast Asia Released  December 18, 2008
		Unlocking the Secrets of Atomic Nuclei Rare isotope research at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory leads to important new applications in areas such as medical treatments and security technology Released  November 13, 2008
		Magnetic Fields in Far Away Galaxies Observed to be 10 Times Stronger than those in Milky Way Conventional theories of star and galaxy formation challenged Released  November 12, 2008
		First Ultracold Polar Molecule Gas Ready for Research Groundbreaking technique could lead to quantum computers, molecular clocks and super-efficient power plants Released  October 29, 2008
		How to Make Adhesive as Good as a Gecko Materials scientist Ali Dhinojwala and his team use nanotechnology to develop adhesive tapes that stick better than a gecko’s foot Released  October 16, 2008
		Klein Bottle is a Real Natural in the Zoo of Geometric Shapes Discovery could advance understanding of human vision and lead to powerful data compression techniques Released  October 7, 2008
		Archaeology of the Stars Michigan State researcher Timothy Beers studies the formation and evolution of stars born many billions of years before the Sun Released  September 17, 2008
		Students Give High Marks to First U.S.-Japan Glass Science School Meeting brings U.S. university students and researchers together with their Japanese counterparts to talk about new developments and potential collaborations in glass research Released  August 21, 2008
		Physicists Gear Up for Huge Data Flow University of Nebraska researchers build a computer center to handle the flood of data expected from the world's next-generation particle accelerator Released  August 7, 2008
		The Choreography of Dancing Molecules Photochemist Elizabeth Harbron and her students investigate the properties of conjugated polymers that can be activated by light Released  August 5, 2008
		Math Could Aid in Curing Cancer Scientists and medical doctors couple math and medicine for unusual, promising marriage Released  August 4, 2008