NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing water and energy technologies for the manufacturing and utilities sectors (WI, IL)

该区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是促进解决方案制造商和公用事业公司需要通过水和能源创新来缓解和适应气候变化的影响，并快速扩展这些解决方案，以供美国和世界各地的行业，政府和其他利益相关者更广泛地使用。主要地理区域包括威斯康星州东部和北方伊利诺斯州，从密尔沃基西到麦迪逊，从芝加哥北到狐狸谷和格林湾。东威斯康星州在制造业、创新和学术研究方面享有盛誉。该地区的公司、公用事业公司和研究人员长期以来一直专注于更好地管理、测量或储存水和能源的解决方案。为了保持威斯康星州作为全国顶级制造业劳动力的价值，其行业必须配备水和能源解决方案，以应对气候变化带来的重大风险。该项目的主要合作伙伴是水理事会、MKE技术中心联盟、威斯康星技术理事会、马奎特大学、麦迪逊地区经济伙伴关系和威斯康星州制造业&生产力中心。该项目将建立在现有的合作伙伴和利益相关者生态系统的基础上，特别是在水技术和能源效率方面，以创建一个更大的、更有效的生态系统不断专注于开发更好的解决方案并将其推向市场。该引擎将映射大学层面现有的使用启发式研究工作，包括NSF行业-大学合作研究中心和大学许可团体，以及私营部门内部的工作，以协调和加强努力。它还将与制造商和公用事业公司合作，以确定目前尚未研究的能源和水相关需求。该团队将利用威斯康星州现有的投资者/天使网络，并努力寻找其他有兴趣支持气候弹性解决方案的投资者。最后，它将包括一项包容性计划，特别是针对种族多样性，以发展世界级的人才管道，促进气候适应性技术，包括加强STEM教育和在职劳动力的非传统再培训。发展奖将使该引擎能够建立一个统一，综合和全面的水和能源弹性引擎计划，准备立即实施，包括确定关键的使用启发的研究，劳动力和DEIA倡议，私营部门天使和风险投资者，启动成熟资源，私营部门使用启发的研究承诺，支持该项目的重要财政公共部门承诺，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on facilitating the solutions manufacturers and utilities need to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change through water and energy innovation and quickly scaling those solutions for wider use by industry, government, and other stakeholders in the United States and across the world. The primary geographic area includes eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois from Milwaukee west to Madison and from Chicagoland north to the Fox Valley and Green Bay. Eastern Wisconsin has a strong reputation for manufacturing, innovation, and academic research excellence. The region's companies, utilities, and researchers have long focused on solutions to manage better, measure or store water and energy. To retain Wisconsin's value as the top manufacturing workforce in the nation, its industries must be equipped with the water and energy solutions they will need to address the material risks posed by climate change. The main partners in this project are The Water Council, MKE Tech Hub Coalition, Wisconsin Technology Council, Marquette University, Madison Region Economic Partnership and Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity.The project will build on existing ecosystems of partners and stakeholders, particularly concerning water technology and energy efficiency, to create a larger, more effective ecosystem continuously focused on developing better solutions and getting them to market. The Engine will map existing use-inspired research efforts at the university level, including NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers and university licensing groups, and within the private sector to coordinate and strengthen efforts. It will also work with manufacturers and utilities to determine energy- and water-related needs not currently in the research pipeline. The team will leverage the existing investor/angel network in Wisconsin and work to identify other investors with an appetite for supporting climate resiliency solutions. Finally, it will include an inclusive plan, especially targeting racial diversity, for growing a world-class talent pipeline to foster climate resiliency technologies, including enhanced STEM education and nontraditional re/upskilling of the incumbent workforce. The Development Award will allow the Engine to build a unified, integrated, and comprehensive water and energy resiliency engine plan ready for immediate implementation encompassing the identification of critical use-inspired research, workforce, and DEIA initiatives, private-sector angel and venture investors, start-up maturity resources, private sector use-inspired research commitments, significant financial public sector commitments supporting the project, and the necessary experience and skills required by senior leadership.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.