SIUE Part of Advancing Smart Logistics Project Receiving $1M NSF Engines Development Award
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a key partner with Governors State University (GSU), in collaboration with the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), in receiving one of the first ever National Science Foundation's Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) awards to lead the Advancing Smart Logistics (ASL) team in an effort to lay the foundation to make Illinois one of the nation’s most advanced transportation and logistics hubs. This project, funded by the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, will develop and introduce smart logistics innovations, while also including an integrated plan to ensure that workers can attain long-term employment and participation in new and existing industries.
The $1 million NSF Engines Development Award supports GSU, SIUE and the other partner organizations through a two-year planning phase to create connections and develop local innovation ecosystems, with the goal of preparing a strong proposal to become an NSF Engine and receive up to $160 million to positively impact Illinois’ economy, accelerate technology development, address societal challenges and ensure equity for those in underserved communities, advance national competitiveness, and create good-paying, local jobs.
“Advancing Smart Logistics is a transformative project centered around innovation and supporting the creation of greater societal, economic, and technological success for our state,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. “Illinois is a nation-leading hub for technology and progress, and this NSF Engines Development Award will further advance partnerships across sectors, organizations and educational institutions.”
“The SIU System campuses are very excited to be a part of the NSF Regional Innovation Engines Development Award,” said Dan Mahony, PhD, president of the Southern Illinois University System. “Thanks to a great research partnership led by Governors State University and the Illinois Innovation Network, SIUE and SIU Carbondale will play an important role in multiple segments of the Advancing Smart Logistics grant. We look forward to working with the IIN and our sister institutions, as well as business and government partners, to create a framework that will provide new opportunities and greater access to commerce throughout the region and beyond, but more importantly, training for good paying jobs that support our Illinois and national economies.”
ASL is among the more than 40 unique teams to receive one of the first-ever NSF Engines Development Awards, which aim to help partners collaborate to create economic, societal, and technological opportunities for their regions.
ASL will build an equitable economic development around advances in transportation logistics, including automation of middle-mile freight trucking systems, deployment of drones and electric vehicles, and regionalizing inland waterway freight and Corn Belt ports. It also will identify strategies for reskilling and upskilling individuals whose career paths are disrupted by automation, while ensuring that workers in local and sub-regional economies can attain long-term participation in new and existing industries.
The NSF Engines program is a transformational investment for the nation, ensuring the U.S. remains in the vanguard of competitiveness for decades to come. The awardees span a broad range of states and regions, reaching geographic areas that have not fully benefited from the technology boom of the past decades.
"These NSF Engines Development Awards lay the foundation for emerging hubs of innovation and potential future NSF Engines," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "These awardees are part of the fabric of NSF's vision to create opportunities everywhere and enable innovation anywhere. They will build robust regional partnerships rooted in scientific and technological innovation in every part of our nation. Through these planning awards, NSF is seeding the future for in-place innovation in communities and to grow their regional economies through research and partnerships. This will unleash ideas, talent, pathways and resources to create vibrant innovation ecosystems all across our nation."
Led by GSU and the IIN, Advancing Smart Logistics engages key partners including SIUE and other higher education institutions, private corporations and non-profit organizations.
Launched by NSF's new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships and authorized by the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022," the NSF Engines program uniquely harnesses the nation's science and technology research and development enterprise and regional-level resources. NSF Engines aspire to catalyze robust partnerships to positively impact regional economies, accelerate technology development, address societal challenges, advance national competitiveness and create local, high-wage jobs.
Photo: National Science Foundation Engines Development Award.
