This page features a list of the major facilities and mid-scale research infrastructure managed by the Office of Research Infrastructure at the U.S. National Science Foundation.
NSF supports the development, design, construction, operations, and maintenance of research infrastructure worldwide. The facilities listed on this page represent exceptional opportunities to enable research and education.
On this page
Major multi-user research facilities
NSF investments in major facilities provide large, state-of-the-art tools for research and education. These can include instrumentation networks, observatories, accelerators, telescopes, research vessels, aircraft and simulators.
U.S. Academic Research Fleet
Featuring over a dozen research vessels ranging in size, endurance and capabilities, the U.S. Academic Research Fleet supports research on the structure, dynamics, chemistry and biology of the ocean.
- Project stage: Operations
- Location: Distributed
Regional Class Research Vessel
- Project stage: Under construction
- Location: Mobile
U.S. Antarctic Program
NSF has managed the U.S. science presence across the Antarctic continent for more than 60 years. NSF-managed facilities and infrastructure there include NSF McMurdo Station, NSF Palmer Station and NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science
- Location: Antarctica
- Stage: Under construction
Antarctic Research Vessel
- Location: Antarctica
- Stage: Design
National Geophysical Facility (NGF)
NGF provides advanced geophysical instruments, data services and training resources that help researchers better understand Earth processes and natural hazards. Supporting scientists, educators, students and public agencies nationwide, the facility enables research on earthquakes, volcanoes, water resources, climate systems and other dynamic Earth processes through shared instrumentation, open-access data and workforce development programs.
Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
Seismological Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory
NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory is an enormous and unusual telescope: a grid of thousands of sensors embedded in a cubic kilometer of ice deep in the Antarctic ice sheet that allows it to detect tiny, elusive neutrinos — the least understood particles in the Standard Model of particle physics.
- Location: Antarctica
- Stage: Operations
IceCube Upgrade, Phase 1
- Location: Antarctica
- Stage: Implementation
Large Hadron Collider
NSF supports two particle physics detectors — ATLAS and CMS — at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. LHC is the most powerful particle accelerator ever constructed, making it the premier facility in the world for research in elementary particle physics.
A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) Detector Operations
- Location: Switzerland
- Stage: Operations
A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS) Detector High Luminosity Upgrade
- Location: Switzerland
- Stage: Construction
Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Detector Operations
- Location: Switzerland
- Stage: Operations
Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Detector High Luminosity Upgrade
- Location: Switzerland
- Stage: Construction
NSF Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (NSF LIGO)
NSF LIGO is the most sophisticated detector of its kind ever created. In 2015, mere days after its advanced instruments were switched on, NSF LIGO detected gravitational waves for the first time, confirming a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity.
- Location: Louisiana and Washington state
- Stage: Operations
LIGO A+ Project
- Location: Louisiana and Washington state
- Stage: Implementation
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
NCAR provides world-class research programs, services and facilities that support research in atmospheric and geospace science, environmental sciences and geosciences. NCAR's facilities include the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center, the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, two research aircraft, a transportable ground-based radar system, and a suite of sophisticated weather and atmospheric models.
- Location: Colorado, Wyoming, Hawaii
- Stage: Operations
NSF National Ecological Observatory Network (NSF NEON)
NSF NEON is a continental-scale ecological observatory featuring cutting-edge sensor networks, instrumentation, observational sampling, natural history archive facilities and remote sensing. NEON enables research on the impacts of weather and land-use change, water use and invasive species on the nation's living ecosystems.
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
NSF National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NSF MagLab)
NSF MagLab is the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world, used by thousands of scientists to probe fundamental questions about materials, energy, life and the environment. It is an international leader in magnet design, development and construction, including the development of new superconducting materials.
- Location: Florida, New Mexico
- Stage: Operations
Preliminary and Final Design of the 40T All Superconducting Magnet
- Location: Florida
- Stage: Design
NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO)
NSF NRAO designs, builds and operates state-of-the-art radio telescopes used by scientists from around the world.
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
- Location: Chile
- Stage: Operations
NSF Green Bank Observatory
- Location: West Virginia
- Stage: Operations
NSF Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array
- Location: New Mexico
- Stage: Operations
NSF Very Long Baseline Array
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
NSF National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO)
NSF NSO advances understanding of the sun — as a star, the heart of the solar system and the biggest external influence on life on Earth. It operates the new NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope: the largest, most powerful, solar telescope on Earth, which recently provided the most detailed images of the solar surface ever recorded.
- Location: New Mexico and Arizona
- Stage: Operations
NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
- Location: Hawaii
- Stage: Operations
NSF National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NSF NOIRLab)
NSF NOIRLab is the nexus for U.S. ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy.
- Location: Arizona and Chile
- Stage: Operations
Gemini Observatory
- Location: Chile and Hawaii
- Stage: Operations
NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
- Location: Chile
- Stage: Operations
Ocean Observatories Initiative
The Ocean Observatories Initiative features a network of instruments, undersea cables and moorings that span the Western Hemisphere. The network supports research on the physical, chemical, geological and biological processes occurring in coastal and regional areas across the globe.
- Location: Distributed
- Stage: Operations
NSF Leadership Class Computing Facility
Leadership Class Computing Facility (LCCF) is a nationwide research computing network that provides powerful supercomputers, large-scale data storage and artificial intelligence tools to help scientists and engineers tackle complex challenges across many fields. LCCF enables researchers nationwide to tackle complex scientific challenges through open access to next-generation computational resources, software, services and workforce development opportunities.
- Location: Texas
- Stage: Under construction
Mid-scale research infrastructure
These investments support the development, design, implementation or operational activities of research infrastructure — including research instrumentation, equipment and upgrades to major research facilities — whose total project costs are under $100 million.
The NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 program (Mid-scale RI-1) supports either design activities or implementation of unique and compelling research infrastructure projects.