The University of Nebraska’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR, has received a four-year, $10 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation. The award will strengthen statewide research partnerships, expand STEM opportunities and support innovation across Nebraska.

EPSCoR programs across the country are designed to boost research investments in states that have historically received less federal research funding than their peers. At Nebraska, EPSCoR programs focus on building research capacity and competitiveness, investing in workforce development and fostering public-private partnerships in STEM.

The new project, Nebraska Strengthening Partnerships for Innovation, Research and Education, or NSPIRE, is Nebraska’s first project funded through a new EPSCoR category, EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems, or E-CORE, designed to strengthen research and innovation ecosystems. The initial 2026-2030 NSPIRE project focuses on expanding career pathways in STEM and strengthening connections to science in Nebraskans’ daily lives.

“NSPIRE looks forward to collaborating with higher education partners across the state, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Southeast Community College, Mid-Plains Community College and Creighton University,” said Matt Andrews, director of Nebraska’s NSF EPSCoR Office, professor with the UNL School of Natural Resources and principal investigator on the project.

Additional organizations involved across Nebraska include:

• NUtech Ventures, UNeMed Corporation and Nebraska I-Corps in the areas of technology transfer and entrepreneurship;
• Nebraska Extension, Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences and the Northeast Nebraska Agricultural Science and Natural Resources Education Compact in the areas of STEM education, outreach and workforce development; and
• the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Education Reporting System, which will provide long-term evaluation data to help shape statewide strategies connecting educational pathways with in-demand STEM careers.

“E-CORE investments build sustainable research capacity and partnerships,” said José Colom Ustariz, NSF EPSCoR program officer. “The program’s goal is to enhance the research ecosystem in EPSCoR jurisdictions, especially their research and innovation competitiveness, via sustainable infrastructure.”

Andrews said NSPIRE will create an online directory of research equipment, facilities and services across institutions and businesses statewide.

“Another feature will be a statewide pipeline for intellectual property to help innovations from smaller communities gain commercialization resources,” Andrews said.

Andrews said NSPIRE will also support programming to boost STEM experiences for students, K-12 teachers and higher education faculty. The Young Nebraska Scientists program — offering summer STEM experiences and year-round free mobile labs for classrooms statewide for more than 15 years — is one of several funded initiatives.

“The NSF award recognizes the importance of collaboration in driving innovation,” said Jeffrey P. Gold, president of the University of Nebraska System. “The NSPIRE project will strengthen connections between research, education and community engagement while expanding opportunities for our students, communities and state.”

The NSPIRE project includes an opportunity for renewal. In its 35-year history, NSF EPSCoR projects have so far brought more than $217 million in science funding to Nebraska, including a Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation and, most recently, Nebraska’s Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies collaboration.