US plans to privatize NCAR Mesa Lab and supercomputer

The US National Science Foundation has sought proposals to privatize NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory and announced the transfer of NCAR’s supercomputing center to a third party.

• Main announcement: The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has sought proposals for privatizing NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and has announced the transfer of NCAR’s supercomputing center in Cheyenne, Wyoming to an unnamed third party.
• Background/details: The actions are reported as part of broader plans by the administration of US President Donald Trump to dismantle NCAR; the report is published in Nature (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00680-z) and references an earlier DOI link https://doi.org/qsk2 (2025).