15 Finalists Are Chosen by NSF for the Upcoming Regional Innovation Engines Competition Round
Fifteen finalists have been selected to move on to the second round of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program. After receiving about 300 Letters of Intent (LOI) in the early summer of 2024, these finalists were chosen from teams that submitted preliminary concepts.
Critical technologies and applications are the competition’s main focus, and they include improving energy grid security, increasing the yield of critical minerals mining extraction, and developing quantum computing. Universities, the commercial sector, and charity groups from all throughout the United States are among the varied organisations leading the finalist teams.
“The NSF Engines finalists have consistently communicated their strong vision for placing their regions on the map as the national and world leaders in key technologies, demonstrating their commitment to advancing U.S. research, innovation, and workforce development,” said Brian Stone, who serves as the NSF director and congratulated the teams. He underlined that expanding innovation capacity globally to rapidly advance critical technologies is essential to ensuring America’s leadership in science and technology.
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Emphasis on Advanced Computing and Quantum
The 15 finalists include a number of projects with a focus on quantum and advanced computing:
Quantum Connected at the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), under the direction of David Awschalom, main investigator. S. Pamir Alpay is the main investigator at the University of Connecticut’s Advancing Quantum Technologies (QuantumCT) project in Storrs, Connecticut. Craig Arnold is the primary investigator for the project Advancing Photonics Technologies (APT) at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. Dedicated to promoting the photonics and optics sector in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, a region APT officials refer to as “Photon Junction”, APT is a coalition. Rowan University, Rutgers University, and Nokia Bell Labs are members of the APT leadership team.
In fields including communications, national security, and quantum computing, photonics, the creation, detection, and manipulation of light, is essential.
Principal investigator Thomas Weller is in charge of the Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology (FAST) program at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.
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The Engines Program Shows Good Returns
In order to accelerate groundbreaking emerging technology research and development (R&D), NSF TIP launched the NSF Engines initiative, which aims to build and grow regional innovation ecosystems across the country. In the end, this endeavour strengthens American national security and economic competitiveness.
Nearly two years after their funding, the first NSF Engines have already produced noteworthy outcomes. A tenfold return on taxpayer expenditures has been achieved since an initial investment of $135 million across nine NSF Engines sparked more than $1 billion in matching commitments from state and local governments, private sector, and philanthropy. Technologies like energy storage, sophisticated chipmaking, and next-generation artificial intelligence are being advanced by these earlier investments.
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The Competition Procedure and Upcoming Actions
For a year or more, several of the candidates have been forming their regional alliances. Interestingly, 11 teams in this cohort have already been awarded two-year planning funding under the NSF Engines Development Awards in 2023 and early 2024, which they used to expand their coalitions and improve their vision.
Following the receipt of preliminary proposals, NSF chose 71 teams to submit complete proposals by the deadline in the spring of 2025. 29 teams made it to the semifinals earlier this summer. Following live, virtual evaluations by the NSF to learn about the teams’ regional coalitions, leadership, core partners, and R&D and translation vision, the 15 finalists were chosen.
The next round will involve the finalists participating in in-depth, in-person interviews and due diligence by the NSF. The involvement of the applicants’ partners will be a crucial element of the selection process, which will also evaluate risks, resources, and the team’s ability to adjust to changing conditions.
Within each finalist’s service region, NSF urges regional constituents to think about pledging their support for the suggested initiatives. It is expected that the final NSF Engines awards from this competition will be revealed in early 2026.
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