Entrepreneurial Fellowships to Enhance U.S. Competitiveness

This project addresses a critical gap in the United States innovation and commercialization ecosystem as it enables top scientists and engineers from across the country to make the leap from lab to market more quickly. The project provides two-year entrepreneurial fellowships at the earliest stage of their commercialization journey. Fellows are selected to advance cutting-edge technology innovations in sectors critical to economic security and competitiveness, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, energy technologies, advanced materials, and biotechnology. Success in this effort will sustain a strong translational research talent pool while advancing emerging industries, addressing critical societal and economic challenges, enhancing U.S. competitiveness, and increasing economic and national security. This project addresses a commercialization gap for early-stage research and strengthens the national innovation ecosystem. Through a two-year fellowship model, participants will receive funding, training, and access to a national network while developing market-ready solutions in hard technology areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, energy technologies, and advanced materials. Fellows work from qualified facilities where they retain control of their research and development activities, enabling them to focus on advancing scientific discoveries into practical applications. In addition to supporting individual fellows, the project integrates a subset of participants from federally-supported regional initiatives. These fellows will be embedded within local innovation infrastructure while benefiting from national programming, creating a dynamic exchange of knowledge and resources across regions. By combining national reach with place-based engagement, the project provides a replicable model for bridging the lab-to-market gap across technological domains. It also contributes to broader economic and workforce development goals by supporting the growth of science-based startups and retaining talent in regions aligned with Federal innovation priorities. Through this integrated strategy, the project accelerates the commercialization of breakthrough technologies and reinforces the country’s leadership in science-driven entrepreneurship. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.