News Releases

Groundbreaking Magnetic Field Discovery Near Massive Protostar
Using data from the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array, an international team of astronomers has for the first time detected circular polarization in radio emission originating from a massive protostar, IRAS 18162-2048 — unveiling fresh clues about the cosmic forces shaping our universe.

Space’s Spinning Enigma: A ‘Unicorn’ Object Defies Astrophysics
Researchers have identified an exceptionally unusual cosmic object known as a Long Period Radio Transient (LPT), named CHIME J1634+44.

Astronomers Discover Massive Molecular Cloud Hidden in Milky Way
In a new study published in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT) have peered into a molecular cloud known as M4.7-0.8, nicknamed the Midpoint cloud. Their observations have revealed a dynamic region bustling with activity, including potential sites of new star formation.

Galactic Mystery: How “Ice Cubes” Survive in the Milky Way’s Blazing Bubbles
A team of astronomers has made a surprising discovery using the U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT): eleven fast-moving clouds of cold, neutral hydrogen gas—akin to “ice cubes”—surviving deep inside the Fermi Bubbles.
AUI by the Numbers
75+
Years of Experience in Managing
Federally Funded Research and
Development Centers (FFRDCs)
30
Active Research Patents
1,130+
Doctoral Dissertations Supported by
National Radio Astronomy
Observatory Facilities
Highlights
- AUI is laying the groundwork to upgrade the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to become the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA).
- AUI led efforts to create the $1.4-billion Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the world’s largest radio telescope, as part of an international consortium.
- AUI has joined with LEAP Manufacturing in support of the UT-Dallas Batteries and Energy to Advance Commercialization and National Security (BEACONS) Center. Funded by a $30-million agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense, BEACONS will develop and commercialize new battery technologies and manufacturing processes, enhance the domestic availability of critical raw materials, and train high-quality workers for jobs in an expanding battery energy storage workforce.
- AUI maintains over a dozen STEM education and public engagement efforts and programs that seek to inspire people of all ages, and to prepare the next generation STEM workforce.
Leadership
Who We Are
AUI is an independent, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1946 that builds, manages and operates large research and development (R&D) facilities for the federal government, including the U.S. National Science Foundation’s National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) facilities, the Center for American Supply Chain Resilience (CASCR), and the AUI Center for Advancing Therapeutics. AUI also develops and implements innovative approaches to education, outreach and workforce development.

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