UTEP Named Finalist in National NSF Engines Competition
Awardees could receive up to $160M
The University of Texas at El Paso has been named one of 16 finalists in the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) competition. If selected for the award, UTEP and partnering organizations could receive up to $160 million over 10 years.
The grant program is anticipated to be transformational, ensuring the U.S. remains globally competitive in key technology areas for decades to come, according to the NSF. The competition will support local and regional partners to become renowned, self-sustaining, technology- and innovation-driven hubs of economic activity for the industry in which it specializes.
Led by Principal Investigator Ahsan Choudhuri, Ph.D., associate vice president of the Aerospace Center and Co-Principal Investigator, Ryan Wicker, Ph.D, director of the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, UTEP proposed a regional hub for advanced aerospace and defense manufacturing known as the Paso del Norte Innovation for Defense and Aerospace (IDEA) Engine.
Partners on the proposal include the City of El Paso, El Paso County, Workforce Solutions Borderplex, El Paso Community College, the National Center for Manufacturing and Machining, Rio Grande Council of Governments, Spaceport America and the El Paso Chamber.
Choudhuri sees the IDEA Engine as a complimentary component that could build on the recently awarded $40 million Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA).
“Our goal is to bring $1.2 billion in investments to the Paso del Norte region to spark the rebirth of American manufacturing here in our community,” Choudhuri said. “These investments will create the infrastructure and resources necessary to support the growth of aerospace and defense manufacturing and to create pathways into middle class jobs in STEM-related fields.”
The overarching goals of the IDEA Engine coalition are:
- Re-imagine the Paso del Norte region as an advanced manufacturing and knowledge-based economy.
- Re-invent the economy to produce catalytic growth that increases the share of jobs in advanced industries in the region from 3.2% to 25%.
- Re-deploy manufacturing capabilities to support U.S. aerospace and defense industries.
- Re-build the region’s talent force with next generation STEM skills for aerospace and defense manufacturing, guaranteeing the entire community a path to the middle class.
The NSF expects to announce awardees this winter. More than 180 proposals were originally submitted to the competition.
“The UTEP Aerospace Center is a gem in our community, and we are excited to be a key partner in this endeavor,” said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser. “This is what El Paso does best, unite with one voice for the betterment of our region, and we are thrilled about the phenomenal potential this initiative has.”
Last Updated on August 02, 2023 at 12:00 AM | Originally published August 02, 2023
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
