ASCEND Commercialization Partners
Put your business expertise behind technology that matters.
Funded engagements with NSF ASCEND Engine teams working on wildfire, electric and water utilities , space weather, and biosecurity challenges.
Technology teams across Colorado and Wyoming have the science. They’re looking for partners who can answer the questions that come first: Who is the customer? How do they buy? What is the path to market?
You will:
- Gain early, inside access to vetted technology and the people building it
- Operate with clearly defined deliverables and scope, set with each team
- Enjoy six months full-time or twelve months part-time financial support; some candidates may support more than one team
Embedded Entrepreneurs bring seasoned sector experience. Commercialization Fellows pair technical depth with early-career entrepreneurial training.
Applications close November 6. Engagements begin in Novembember.
Region of Service
Over the past two decades, Colorado and Wyoming (the CO-WY region) have experienced intensifying wildfires, droughts, soil degradation, and air quality concerns. The region's varied conditions, ranging from high-desert plains to mountain ecosystems, present a unique opportunity to develop, test, and scale next-generation technologies. Such technologies will empower communities to better monitor, protect against, and adapt to the impacts of these natural hazards.
The ASCEND Engine is strategically concentrated along the I-25 Innovation Corridor, which spans from the cities of Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming in the north through Fort Collins, Boulder, and Denver, down to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the south. This corridor is home to a highly connected hub of leading research institutions, national laboratories, startups, and industries that fuel ASCEND-related technical innovation. While anchored in this corridor, ASCEND’s impact extends across Colorado and Wyoming, actively engaging rural and Tribal communities via targeted research, workforce, and deployment programs.
World Class Innovators and Partners
The ASCEND Engine was recently awarded continued funding for 2026-2029. Over the next three years, the ASCEND Engine will deploy two flagship R&D programs that tackle urgent regional and national challenges: ARID will accelerate solutions to protect critical power and water systems from increasing wildfire risk. SHIELD will establish a first-of-its-kind network of field test sites to advance next-generation agricultural measurement technologies. These programs bring together advanced sensing, AI, and real-world deployment to turn breakthrough science into solutions that matter now.
The NSF ASCEND Engine is undertaking a coordinated strategy to translate breakthrough science into economic growth, resilient infrastructure, and scalable solutions. Alongside our R&D efforts, we are building workforce pathways that connect both degreed and non-degreed talent to the jobs of the future—ensuring communities across Colorado and Wyoming benefit from this momentum.
Strategic Partnerships
Research & Development
Translation of Innovations
Workforce of the Future
10 Year expected outcomes aim to generate significant economic impact:
PRODUCT BOOST
FOR WORKFORCE
Tech. Science. Accelerated.
Join Innosphere's incubation & commercialization program for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs of science and technlolgy-based startup companies.
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