Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope suffers collapse

Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope suffers collapse

Damage sustained at the Arecibo Observatory 305-meter telescope.

The instrument platform of the 305-meter telescope at Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico fell at approximately 7:55 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time Dec. 1, resulting in damage to the dish and surrounding facilities.

No injuries were reported as a result of the collapse. The U.S. National Science Foundation ordered the area around the telescope to be cleared of unauthorized personnel since the failure of a cable Nov. 6. Local authorities will keep the area cordoned off as engineers work ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301737&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


This is an NSF News item.

Published December 01, 2020 at 06:40PM
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Thursday, November 19, 2020

NSF begins planning for decommissioning of Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope due to safety concerns

NSF begins planning for decommissioning of Arecibo Observatory’s 305-meter telescope due to safety concerns

The 900-ton instrument platform at Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope hanging 405 feet above the telescope's dish.

Following a review of engineering assessments that found damage to the Arecibo Observatory cannot be stabilized without risk to construction workers and staff at the facility, the U.S. National Science Foundation will begin plans to decommission the 305-meter telescope, which for 57 years has served as a world-class resource for radio astronomy, planetary, solar system and geospace research.

The decision comes after NSF evaluated multiple assessments by independent engineering ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301674&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


This is an NSF News item.

Published November 19, 2020 at 04:30PM
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize for Economics 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize for Economics 2020

Graphic of an auction gavel

The Nobel Assembly has awarded the 2020 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, both of Stanford University, "for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats." The U.S. National Science Foundation has supported these researchers for decades, as they explored game theory and used their findings to develop new kinds of auctions.

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan issued ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301415&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


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Published October 13, 2020 at 02:08PM
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Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020

CRISPR illustration depicting a scientist using scissors to cut a strand of DNA

The Nobel Assembly has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jennifer A. Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, in Berlin, “for the development of a method for genome editing.” The U.S. National Science Foundation has long supported Doudna, beginning with its Alan T. Waterman award in 2000, as well as other researchers in her CRISPR lab. Doudna, an advocate for fundamental ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301376&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


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Published October 07, 2020 at 02:10PM
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Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020

Statement on the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020

Illustration of a black hole.

The Nobel Assembly has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics to Roger Penrose "for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity” and jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy." The U.S. National Science Foundation supported Penrose for theoretical work while he was at Rice University and Gentzel for infrared astronomy at the ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301360&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


This is an NSF News item.

Published October 06, 2020 at 06:13PM
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Tuesday, September 29, 2020

NSF selects Sean Jones to head Mathematical and Physical Sciences directorate

NSF selects Sean Jones to head Mathematical and Physical Sciences directorate

Sean Jones

The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected Sean Jones to serve as head of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

Jones has worked as an innovator in the field of materials science; an advocate for inspiring and training the next generation of researchers and skilled workers; and a leader at NSF, committed to institutional improvements that serve the science and engineering community as well as the public. He has served with NSF for more than a decade, starting ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301315&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


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Published September 29, 2020 at 05:00PM
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Wednesday, August 5, 2020

NSF recognizes innovative science of chemist and aeronautical engineer as 2020 Waterman awardees

NSF recognizes innovative science of chemist and aeronautical engineer as 2020 Waterman awardees

Portraits of Emily Balskus and John O. Dabiri

WASHINGTON – A chemist who is zooming in on microbes in the human body to understand their influence on human lives and an engineer who looks to animals to build better wind turbines and other technology have earned this year’s prestigious NSF Alan T. Waterman award. Emily Balskus, a Harvard University chemist, and John O. Dabiri, a California Institute of Technology aeronautical engineer, have earned the nation's highest honor ...

More at https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300971&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click


This is an NSF News item.

Published August 05, 2020 at 02:00PM
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