Biophysical Society Bulletin | April 2026

Public Affairs

NSF Reorients Funding Toward AI and Quantum Science The National Science Foundation (NSF) is undergoing a significant strategic shift, with AI and quantum information science emerging as dominant priorities in its $9 billion research portfolio. At a recent meeting of the National Science Board, Acting Director Brian Stone and Chief Management Officer Micah Cheatham described how the agency is aligning its programs with White House goals emphasizing technological leadership in AI and quantum systems. The change marks a significant departure from the NSF’s long-standing bottom-up model, in which research directions were shaped primarily by investigator proposals and community input across all scientific disciplines. To accelerate progress in these transformative fields, the NSF has created a new interdisciplinary funding track, “frontier ini tiatives,” currently focused exclusively on AI and quantum research. The agency has also reduced the number of topic-specific grant solicitations and narrowed its use of rotating academic program officers to those with expertise aligned with these areas. Officials say the streamlined structure is intended to concentrate resources and reduce administrative complexity. The pivot comes amid a 35% reduction in staff over the past year, with further growth constrained by budget uncertainties. Although Congress ultimately limited funding cuts to 3%, earlier proposals had called for substantially deeper reductions, placing pres sure on the agency to prioritize strategically. While many researchers acknowledge the scientific and economic importance of AI and quantum technologies, they caution that sustained US leadership in science depends on maintaining the NSF’s historic breadth—supporting fundamental research in biology, geoscience, mathematics, social science, and engineering that often seeds future breakthroughs in emerging fields. As the NSF recalibrates its funding mechanisms, the central question for the scientific community is how to balance targeted investment in high-impact technologies with the broad, curiosity-driven research ecosystem that has long defined the agency’s mission.

New DOE Advisory Panel Signals Strategic Focus for Office of Science The Department of Energy (DOE) has appointed a new 21-member Office of Science Advisory Committee (SCAC) to guide its $8.4 billion Office of Science, the nation’s largest funder of physical sciences research. The panel replaces six discipline-specific advisory committees that were disbanded last year, consolidating guidance into a single body. Chaired by Persis Drell , former director of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the committee includes leaders from universities, nonprofit research organizations, and industry. In announcing the panel, DOE Undersecretary for Science Darío Gil stated that its creation “underscores the Department’s commitment to scientific integrity and the power of partner ship.” The SCAC’s composition reflects a strategic emphasis on AI and advanced computing, areas central to the DOE’s Genesis Mission to integrate AI across scientific research. Computer science expertise is strongly represented, alongside experi ence in energy technology and research management. Some scientific communities note that not all of the DOE’s six core research programs—advanced scientific computing, basic en ergy sciences, biological and environmental research, fusion

energy sciences, high-energy physics, and nuclear physics— have direct representation on the panel. As a high-level ad visory body, the SCAC is expected to focus on broad priorities and major initiatives rather than program-level decisions. The restructuring marks a shift toward centralized strate gic oversight at a time when the DOE is investing heavily in AI-enabled discovery, next-generation computing, and large scale scientific infrastructure. For the research community, the effectiveness of the new model will depend on how well it balances cross-cutting national priorities with the depth and diversity that have long characterized the Office of Science’s portfolio. Proposed NIST Security Rules Raise Broader Concerns for US Science The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is considering new security rules that would limit stays for foreign visiting researchers to three years and restrict after-hours lab access. Scientists from several countries classified as “high risk” could face earlier reviews and possible termination, particularly in areas such as quantum science and AI.

April 2026

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