The National Science Foundation announced this week the newest NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) to 12 teams across 20 states. Each team will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years, with the potential of receiving up to $160 million each from NSF over the next decade.
The selections mark the end of a process that started in the summer of 2024 when 300 letters of intent were submitted to NSF as prospective applicants. In Spring 2025, the agency selected 79 of those which went on to submit preproposals to submit full proposals.
The 12 newest NSF Engines are:
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NSF BRIDGES Engine in Alabama and Tennessee, led by the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
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NSF Critical Materials Crossroads Engine in the Kansas City Region, led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
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NSF Critical Mineral Accelerator Engine in Alaska, led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
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NSF FAST Engine in Oregon, led by Oregon State University.
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NSF Grid Modernization Engine in the Carolinas, led by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
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NSF IMPACT Engine in Indiana, led by Indiana University.
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NSF NEO-SMART Engine in Northeast Ohio, led by Case Western Reserve University with more than 70 regional partners.
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NSF Quantum Technologies Engine in Connecticut, led by the University of Connecticut.
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NSF RETI Engine in West Virginia and western Pennsylvania, led by West Virginia University in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and the U.S. Research Impact Alliance.
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NSF RuralSTAMINA Biomanufacturing Engine in Iowa and Nebraska, led by Iowa State University.
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NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems.
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NSF STELLAR Engine in the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region of New York, led by the University of Rochester.
To learn more about these NSF Engines, visit the NSF Engines Cohort 2 webpage.