The U.S. National Science Foundation announced 71 teams that will advance to compete for the championship. … [+]
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has 71 cross-industry regional teams across nearly every U.S. state and territory to implement significant industrial policy programs authorized under the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. announced that it is moving forward in the NSF’s Regional Innovation Engine Competition.
The program provides up to 10 years of funding to regional consortia including universities, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations focused on research and development and STEM. These consortia aim to foster regional innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and job creation in emerging technology sectors, particularly in regions that are positioned to lead the world.
Earlier this year, First Lady Biden and NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan announced the inaugural 10 NSF Engine Awards at Forsyth Technical Community College. The first 10 NSF engines operate across 18 states, from Arizona to Texas to Florida.
This program complements the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Innovation or “Tech Hub” program, which is also authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act. NSF Engines focuses on more early-stage innovation ecosystems, while the Tech Hubs program aims to accelerate more established innovation ecosystems.
This investment is the most extensive investment in research-based economic development since President Abraham Lincoln’s passage of the Morrill Act, which established land-grant universities at the height of the Civil War.
The 71 teams’ flagship institutions range from elite Ivy League universities like Princeton University to public universities like Wichita State University to medical institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital. Half of the team previously won the 2023 NSF Engine Development Award. The award is a $1 million planning grant given to areas that officials have determined are not eligible for a full NSF engine award, but can be earned with some effort.
The team proposed growing an innovation ecosystem across the technology areas highlighted in the CHIPS Act. According to data tools released by NSF, the most popular technology focus areas are advanced energy and efficiency technologies and biotechnology, with 15 proposals each. Robotics and Advanced Manufacturing took second place with 12 submissions. Other regions focused on AI, semiconductors, disaster prevention, and quantum science and technology.
NSF said it will publish further information about the team, including partner information and how to connect with invited proposal teams, with the aim of fostering further collaboration. The 71 teams have until February 2025 to submit their final proposals to NSF.
Map of the first 10 NSF Engine winners announced by the White House and NSF earlier this year … [+]
Industry collaborates on CHIPS Act funding efforts
The agency said the grant competition is “consistent” with the $10.18 billion in funding under the president’s fiscal year 2025 budget request for the agency. However, an NSF spokesperson said in an email statement that funding for the new engine award “is subject to additional Congressional appropriations starting in fiscal year 2025.”
Congressional appropriators have not yet acted on the funding authorized for NSF in the CHIPS Act. In March, Congress reversed course and cut NSF’s budget by more than $800 million, which hampered the agency’s ability to fully fulfill its mission in CHIPS. Since then, university and community college presidents have advocated for the funding to be restored.
But business leaders have been particularly vocal in supporting funding for the NSF. Immediately after the bipartisan passage of CHIPS in August 2022, CEOs of more than 30 major technology companies, from Amazon to Texas Instruments, sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to reach the full amount authorized. He called for a 35 percent increase in National Science Foundation funding. CHIPS method.
Business leaders cite the need to both support domestic economic growth and improve productivity through investment in research, STEM education, technology development, and innovation. It is also focused on preventing competition from China, which has pledged to guarantee a 10% increase in science and technology spending.
Most recently, in June 2024, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined forces with Accenture, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP to urge the House of Representatives to double NSF’s budget in accordance with its mandates under CHIPS and the Science Act. and requested Senate leadership.
That same month, nearly 20 chief technology officers from major companies, including GlobalFoundries, Dupont, and 3M, sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to fully fund NSF at the level authorized by CHIPS. Accenture Chief Technology Officer Paul Daugherty wrote an op-ed in September 2024 echoing his colleagues’ calls for Congress to deliver on the NSF CHIPS promise.
It remains to be seen whether Congress will restore NSF funding or agree to meet the levels envisioned in CHIPS and the Science Act. Congress will return to session after Election Day and faces a packed schedule. In the meantime, the 71 team continues to develop its engine proposal in hopes of securing sufficient funding.
