CU Boulder is a founding partner of the CO-WY Engine, one of 16 finalists for the National Science Foundation鈥檚 inaugural 鈥淣SF Regional Innovation Engines鈥� competition, which could net winners $160 million over 10 years.
With the CO-WY Engine, stakeholders in Colorado and Wyoming are focused on driving technological innovation, community resilience and sustainable advancement. CU Boulder and CU Denver are among several research universities in the region guiding and supporting those efforts. The initiative is a member of the larger , which sprang out of the 鈥淐HIPS and Science Act of 2022,鈥� federal legislation to accelerate U.S. leadership and competitiveness in innovation.
The CO-WY Engine鈥檚 grant proposal, 鈥淪caling the Regional, Technology-Driven, Innovation Ecosystem in Climate Solutions and Community Resiliency in Colorado and Wyoming鈥� was led by and is focused on fostering a regional innovation ecosystem of cutting-edge products and services that takes on societal and economic challenges. In addition to research universities, this includes partnering with several community colleges and federal labs, regional economic development organizations, policy- and community-focused entities, industry partners, investors and startup accelerators.
That level of regional collaboration makes the CO-WY Engine a strong candidate for the award, according to Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation and managing director for Venture Partners at CU Boulder. 鈥淭he critical factor that makes this successful is the multidisciplinary, multi-sector partnerships, and I think that鈥檚 what the Colorado-Wyoming Engine has done really well,鈥� he said.听
It鈥檚 not just the number of collaborators that鈥檚 important but the fact that there is diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility among the ideas and opportunities, said Rees. 鈥淭he CO-WY Engine is engaging stakeholders who are most impacted by climate-related problems like drought and wildfire, making sure those stakeholders are a part of designing the Engine, and making sure they鈥檙e a part of receiving the Engine鈥檚 benefits as well,鈥� he said.听
Solving today鈥檚 challenges
The NSF Engines program is investing in U.S.-based STEM research and development and is focused on funding regional hubs that will increase the speed and scale of emerging, critical and use-inspired technology (such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, advanced wireless and biotechnology), to drive industry and boost job growth and ultimately, according to NSF, 鈥�.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 really important within our region, which is in the throes of a 30-year mega-drought, but it鈥檚 also all over the world, really,鈥� said Rees. 鈥淲e鈥檙e facing aridification and wildfires, and if we can respond even just a little bit faster or have more resilient structures, better communication strategies, better sensing, all of that can actually be the difference between life and death for people.鈥�
The CO-WY Engine proposes to tackle existing and emerging challenges by translating environmental monitoring technologies and predictive analytics into decision-support systems. They project that work will align a growing workforce with the needs of the 鈥渃limate tech鈥� economy and create 鈥渆quitable, prosperous and environmentally resilient communities,鈥�.
Moving solutions from lab to society
Innovations are great but not particularly effective if they never emerge from universities in a practical way. That鈥檚 part of what makes CU Boulder a 鈥減owerful contributor to the Engine,鈥� said Rees. The university has proven strengths in translating innovations into real-world applications. He pointed specifically to the work emerging from and the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, both key contributors to the CO-WY Engine proposal.听
Rees added that CU Boulder鈥檚 track record in launching startups is another huge asset to the CO-WY Engine鈥檚 mission to find and implement widespread, impactful solutions. 鈥淐olorado is known for creating new businesses, creating new startups, especially those that spin out of the research institutions鈥攁nd CU Boulder drives that. So we鈥檙e taking that pipeline of startup creation and applying it to the climate resilience research in the Engine, which will be expanding and strengthening it further.鈥�
And the winner is鈥�
NSF recently chose the 16 Engine finalists from an original pool of for proposals. Teams were interviewed and evaluated on the proposed leadership鈥檚 ability to rapidly mobilize in the first two years of funding, competitive advantage, budget and resources for the planned research and workforce development efforts.
NSF will visit finalists over the next two months to assess risks, committed resources and each team鈥檚 ability to adapt to changing circumstances. NSF expects to choose a handful of winners of the competition . Each chosen NSF Engine will receive roughly $15 million over the first two years of funding and up to $160 million over the next decade.