NSF Names UT Austin and Partners Among Grant Semifinalists
A coalition between The University of Texas at Austin, four other leading Texas research institutions, and the Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) has been selected as a semifinalist for the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines grant program.
As a semifinalist, the coalition—which includes the University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Southern University, and the Texas A&M University System—has been invited to the Virtual Site Visit stage of the grant process. If awarded, the grant would provide up to $160 million in funding over 10 years to accelerate growth of a regional innovation ecosystem to support energy transition technologies and policies.
"Growth of our innovation ecosystem is crucial to the continued prosperity of our region, and Houston— as a global leader in energy—will play a key role in that growth. The NSF Engine grant would provide critical support for UT Austin researchers and regional stakeholders to build our energy future together,” said Brian Korgel, Director of the UT Energy Institute.