Category II: Transitioning the National Science Data Fabric Pilot into a National Operational Cyberinfrastructure and Service for Democratized, AI-Driven Scientific Discovery

NSF Award Search · 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $9,000,000 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

Scientific research today generates data at a scale and pace that far exceeds what most research institutions can manage on their own. Petabytes of measurements from telescopes, particle accelerators, weather sensors, and medical imaging systems sit in disconnected storage systems across the country, out of reach of many scientists who could use them to drive scientific discoveries and AI innovation. Universities and colleges with limited computing resources are seldom able to participate in large-scale, data-driven research, limiting who contributes to scientific progress, workforce training, and AI readiness. This project operationalizes the National Science Data Fabric (NSDF), a national data infrastructure service funded through the NSF Integrated Data and Systems Sciences (IDSS) program, that connects researchers at institutions of all sizes to scientific data wherever it resides at national laboratories, experimental facilities, cloud platforms, leadership-class computing centers, campus clusters, or laboratory instruments while reducing the need for costly and time-consuming data movement. By removing infrastructure gaps that limit participation in national-scale research, NSDF advances the NSF's mission to promote the progress of science and advance national health, prosperity, and welfare. The project also builds the next generation of data and AI-capable scientists through a national Fellows Program, summer training institutes, and hands-on workshops open to studen

Key facts

NSF award ID
2609465
Awardee
University of Tennessee Knoxville (TN)
SAM.gov UEI
FN2YCS2YAUW3
PI
Michela Taufer
Primary program
01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
Artificial Intelligence (AI), DATANET
Estimated total
$9,000,000
Funds obligated
$9,000,000
Transaction type
Cooperative Agreement
Period
09/01/2026 → 08/31/2029