WKU, together with a team led by the University of Kentucky and with partners across Kentucky and Tennessee, has been awarded $1 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation's Regional Innovation Engines, or NSF Engines, program. This team’s proposal, “Advancing carbon centric circular economy technologies for advanced manufacturing solutions (KY, TN),” is led by a coalition named Generate Advanced Manufacturing Excellence for Change (GAME Change).
The GAME Change team 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.
The coalition of research, education, economic development, industrial and manufacturing leaders of the Southeastern Commerce Corridor (SCC) of Kentucky and Tennessee under GAME Change aims to create a diverse innovation and talent development hub that secures U.S. competitiveness in Next-Generation Manufacturing (NGM) and supply chain logistics, supports closed-cycle manufacturing to reduce waste and increases efficiencies across sectors including automotive, aerospace, energy, food and beverage, and materials.
GAME Change is centered in the SCC, surrounding Bowling Green and including the I-65 and I-75 thoroughfares and the promising high-growth centers of Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga that outline an Appalachian region in need of greater connectivity and economic resiliency.
“We’re pleased to be part of the team building ideas that will help turn our region into a hub of innovation,” said David Brown, Dean of the Ogden College of Science and Engineering and one of two WKU co-investigators on the grant.
