“Our economy and national security depend on our ability to invest heavily in today’s and tomorrow’s technology…and rapidly develop domestic talent across all demographic and geographic backgrounds. you can,” he said.

The TIP is the foundation’s first new board in over 30 years. According to Gianchandani, the focus is on “use-inspired research,” meaning technology applied to people’s daily lives, developing a workforce and sowing the seeds of research coalitions.

He said the potential for cooperation is not limited to NSF’s recently announced semiconductor partnership to support domestic microelectronics development. TIP is also essential for facilitating artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, and next-generation communications.

This partnership falls under what the Foundation calls a ‘Regional Innovation Engine’. The engine’s goal is to advance critical technology while ensuring that diverse stakeholders play a pivotal role in its success.

In order for the partnership to receive funding, the strategic plan must demonstrate diversity not only in the leadership team, but also in the distribution and execution of funding among partners.

For educational settings, this means more inclusion for smaller schools.

“The NSF engine will help the region, including institutions dedicated to STEM underserved communities, such as historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and two-year colleges and universities. We need to be involved in a wide variety of institutional types: community colleges, technical schools, technical schools, etc.,” he said.

“NSF recognizes the need for capacity building and technical assistance to fully engage certain organizations and encourages proposals to incorporate such needs into budgets and activities.”