Today, Governor Roy Cooper recognized the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and the Morganton-based non-profit The Industrial Commons (TIC) as each organization won highly prestigious grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines, or NSF Engines, Program. Created by the federal CHIPS and Science Act, the NSF Engines Program aims to advance critical technologies and expand the United States' innovation capacity by leveraging the resources, creativity, and ingenuity that exist across geographic regions throughout the country. These North Carolina centers and their partners are expected to leverage the NSF’s investment to spur additional private and public investments into each Engine and its activities.
Each grant announced today could yield up to $160 million over 10 years to each of the two North Carolina Engines. Across the country, only 16 finalists were named for the Type 2 NSF Regional Innovation Engines competition. With today’s announcement, North Carolina secures two of these significant awards and reaffirms the state’s position as one of the most innovative economic regions in the world.
“We are excited that Biden Administration is yet again funding amazing projects in North Carolina that will create good-paying jobs and produce groundbreaking innovation,” said Governor Cooper. "These awards funded by the CHIPS and Science Act will make innovative investments that lead to life saving treatments, a stronger workforce and a cleaner, more sustainable energy future."
The Engine led by The Industrial Commons will be known as the “North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine.” Featuring several textile related institutions and educational partners, the award will bolster sustainability in the textile sector throughout North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia.
The Engine headed by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine will be known as the “Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine.” This Engine will help expand the translation of Regenerative Medicine technologies to industry and nurture a diverse workforce within central North Carolina providing jobs and increasing the economic health of the region for the benefit of all.
Numerous North Carolina partners contributed to the success of these awards, including, for the North Carolina Textile Innovation and Sustainability Engine, N.C. State University, Wilson College of Textiles, the Manufacturing Solutions Center at Catawba Valley Community College, Gaston Textile Technology Center at Gaston Community College and Western Piedmont Community College. In addition to the Core Partners, the Leadership Team also includes the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Office of Science, Technology, & Innovation, NC Idea, and RTI (Research Triangle Institute).
The Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine is led by the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and its partners include Forsyth Technical Community College (FTCC), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), the RegenMed Development Organization (ReMDO), and Winston Salem State University (WSSU).
About The Industrial Commons:
The Industrial Commons is a 501(c)(3) founded in 2015. Their mission is to rebuild a diverse working class based on locally rooted wealth. They do this by founding and scaling employee-owned social enterprises, creating industry networks and delivering a suite of workforce development and youth engagement programs. To learn more about TIC, visit www.theindustrialcommons.org.
About Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine:
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is an international leader in translating scientific discovery into clinical therapies. Physicians and scientists at WFIRM were the first in the world to engineer laboratory-grown organs that were successfully implanted into humans. Today, this interdisciplinary team that numbers about 400 is working to engineer more than 40 different replacement tissues and organs, and to develop healing cell therapies – all with the goal to cure, rather than merely treat, disease.
About National Science Foundation:
The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense. NSF’s investments account for about 25% of federal support to America's colleges and universities for basic research.
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