Houston Daily

The University of Houston (UH) has advanced to the semifinal round in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines competition. This brings UH closer to potentially winning a $15 million grant aimed at fostering innovative ecosystems.

UH is among 29 institutions that have moved forward in this competition, which encourages collaboration between universities, nonprofits, and other organizations. The proposal from UH, led by Professor Haleh Ardebili from the Cullen College of Engineering, focuses on "Biomanufacturing of Chemicals and Materials for Sustainability (BioMS)."

“Each team was selected because it brought strong public and private partners to the table and outlined a promising vision for research, innovation and workforce development in their respective regions of service, thereby advancing U.S. competitiveness, national security and economic growth,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.

The UH proposal aims to develop a biomanufacturing ecosystem in Greater Houston focusing on workforce development, research commercialization, startups, and capital investment. This initiative seeks to enhance both local and national bioeconomy resilience.

Collaborating with UH are Greater Houston Partnership, BioWell, San Jacinto College, and East End Maker Hub. “We’re all working together to build a leading biomanufacturing ecosystem in Greater Houston," stated Haleh Ardebili.

Out of 300 institutions that submitted letters of intent for this second NSF Engines competition cycle—spanning technologies like energy grid security—UH is now one step closer as semifinalists undergo virtual assessments by NSF. These evaluations will consider coalition strength and project alignment before selecting finalists expected to be announced in early 2026.

Successful teams could receive up to $160 million over ten years if they meet certain milestones after initial funding. “This outstanding cohort of semifinalists clearly demonstrates that America’s technology competitiveness will depend as much on expanding our ability to unlock innovation capacity...as it will on advancing the technologies themselves,” added Gianchandani.

NSF's Technology Innovation & Partnerships launched these engines back in May 2022; during its first run ending January 2024 saw nearly seven hundred concept outlines submitted nationwide with awards given out across eighteen states totaling fifteen million dollars distributed among ten teams involved then too!