NSF establishes new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships

National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan announced a new directorate within the U.S. National Science Foundation focused on Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). This new directorate — NSF's first in more than 30 years — builds upon the agency's commitment over seven decades to serve as a beacon of US innovation, advancing the frontiers of research and education across all fields of science and engineering. TIP is a critical first step that will accelerate the development of new technologies and products that improve Americans' way of life, grow the economy and create new jobs, and strengthen and sustain U.S. competitiveness for decades to come. Through TIP, NSF plans to launch a set of integrated initiatives. Together, these initiatives will advance critical and emerging technologies; accelerate the translation of research results from the lab to market and society; and cultivate new education pathways leading to a diverse and skilled future technical workforce comprising researchers, practitioners, technicians and entrepreneurs. This will no doubt expand the geography of innovation and help deliver on NSF’s Missing Millions goals. Notably, over time, TIP will establish regional "innovation engines" throughout the U.S. These innovation engines will advance use-inspired research, entrepreneurship, and workforce development to nurture and accelerate regional industries, ushering in a transformational revolution of business and economic growth regionally and nationally that strengthens bottom-up, middle-out growth in industries and communities across America. The TIP Directorate will leverage strategic partnerships spanning multiple disciplines and sectors to advance the frontiers of emerging industries, from trustworthy artificial intelligence systems to biotechnology, cybersecurity, next-generation wireless networks, microelectronics and semiconductors, and quantum computing platforms.