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Innosphere’s startup impact

Driving Technology
Innovation

$5M in grants support groundbreaking
projects across Colorado and Wyoming

Innosphere-fueled impact

Before the Haze Arrives: CSU's RADSENSE Project Is Forecasting Wildfire Smoke in Real Time

CSU team uses deep-learning to better protect public heath
Organization
Colorado State University
Location
Fort Collins, CO
Primary Investigator
Professor John Volckens
Program
NSF ASCEND Engine Research & Development Grant
Impact Story

From Research to Resilience: Inside the Earth and Space Systems Accelerator

Innosphere's Inaugural Earth & Space Systems cohort advances leading-edge science, contributing contribute to economic growth, technological leadership, and a more resilient region.
Product or Business
FloodID, PrecisionTerra, Brint Tech
Program
Earth & Space Systems Accelerator
CEOs and Founders
Kelsey McDonough, Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan, and Kathy Andersen
Impact Spotlight

Meeting the Moment: How Targeted Workforce Training Is Strengthening Rural Wyoming

Wind River Indian Reservation Resident Upskills with gener8tor Skills Accelerator
Name
Shiloh Meeks
Location
Fort Washakie, WY
Program
NSF ASCEND Engine gener8tor Skills Accelerator
Workforce Spotlight

Accelerating Research at Scale: How the NSF ASCEND Engine’s First Hackathon Turned Bottlenecks into Breakthroughs

By pairing ASCEND‑supported projects with NVIDIA expertise and ARCC compute resources, this hackathon transformed theoretical capability into operational progress.
Parter Organizations
NVIDIA, OpenACC Organization, UW Advanced Research Computing Center (ARCC)
Location
Laramie, Wy
Ecosystem Opportunities
All NSF ASCEND Projects
Impact Spotlight

Building Wyoming’s Workforce Pathways: How gener8tor Skills Accelerator Helped Launch Bryan Badley’s IT Career

A graduate spotlight from the NSF ASCEND Engine – Gener8tor Skills Accelerator partnership
Name
Bryan Badley
Location
Cheyenne, WY
NSF ASCEND Program
Workforce Development
Program
gener8tor Skills Accelerator
Workforce Story

Building Colorado’s Systems Engineering Talent: RapiCure Internship Outcomes

RapiCure’s Opportunity Now Colorado–funded internships offer hands‑on systems engineering experience.
Business
RapiCure Solutions
Program
Opportunity Now Colorado
Interns
Jackson Staver, Ashley Franklin, and Kayla Titus
Intern Spotlight
Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade Systems Engineering Grant

The Future of Water: How Predictive Science Is Changing River Management in Colorado

A multi‑institutional collaboration is pairing novel sensors with river‑wide monitoring networks to give water managers unprecedented, real‑time insight into water quality.
Organizations
Colorado State University and the University of Colorado - Boulder
Location
Fort Collins, CO and Boulder, CO
Project Leads
Associate Professor Matt Ross and Professor Evan Thomas
Impact Spolight
NSF ASCEND Engine Research & Development Grant

Tradition Meets Technology: Buffalo, Data, and Unlocking Community Resilience

Returning Buffalo to their historical range offers many opportunities for the Wind River Tribes
Partner Organization
Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative
Location
Kinnear, WY
Ecosystem Opportunities
SHIELD Program- Soil Science
Impact Spotlight

When Fire Hits Home: Mapping Risk in the Wildland-Urban Interface

"From this research, we hope to reduce fire risk, and the number of homes lost to fires every year."
Project Lead
Virginia Iglesias
Organization
Earth Lab, University of Colorado
Location
Boulder, CO
Impact Spotlight
ASCEND Engine Use-Inspired Research Grant 2024

Smart Stormwater: Frog Creek Partners Powers a Cleaner Crow Creek with Gutter Bin Innovation

Stormwater filters in Cheyenne are stopping pollution before it hits Crow Creek—protecting water for 23 million people downstream.
Company
Frog Creek Partners
Location
Casper, WY
Founder and CEO
Brian Deurloo
Impact Spotlight
NSF ASCEND Engine Translation Award 2025

Prairie Restoration, Bison, and the Future of Soil Science

Environmental Science senior Peter Ferraro gains career-focused lab and fieldwork skills as part of his NSF-funded internship in soil health and prairie restoration.
Student
Peter Ferraro
University
Metropolitan State University - Denver
Department
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Location
Boulder, CO
Intern Spotlight
Soil Health in Short Grass Prairie

Cracking the Code on Methane Leaks

Better detection methods lead to accurate and reliable identification of methane leaks
Co-founder and CEO
Babur Ozden
Co-founder
Marcus Martinez
Company
Aquanta Vision
Location
Houston, TX
Impact Spotlight
NSF ASCEND Engine Translation Grant 2024

NEON Lighting the Way for Future Collaboration and Innovation in Soil Health

NEON’s Sterling site is a data-rich hub and partnership platform powering a pioneering NSF-funded digital twin project for ecosystems.
Organization
National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) / Battelle
Partners
National Renewable Energy Lab, NVIDIA, PAGE Technologies
Project Lead
Mike SanClements
Impact Story
NSF ASCEND Engine Research & Development Grant

Immersive Innovation: CSU Students Tackle Community Resilience in VR

Innosphere-Sponsored VR Challenge Showcases Data‑Driven Community Resilience Prototypes from Interdisciplinary Teams
Students
CSU VR Challenge
University
Colorado State University
Location
Fort Collins, CO
Workforce Spotlight

MSU Denver Student Tackles Cutting-Edge Weather Simulations During NOAA Internship

MSU Denver student Gage Gibson gains hands-on experience in advanced weather modeling during a prestigious NOAA internship.
Student
Gage Gibson
University
Metropolitian State University - Denver
Company
NOAA - Global Systems Laboratory
Location
Boulder, CO
Intern Spotlight
Evaluating Experimental Weather Simulations Intern

Hacking for a Cause – the CyberTruck and CyberTractor Challenges.

CSU Students gain cybersecurity skills and hands-on experience with commercial trucks and agricultural tractors.
Students
CSU Cyber Challenge Participants
University
Colorado State University
Supervisor
Associate Professor Jeremy Daily
Department
Systems Engineering
Workforce Spotlight
OEDIT - Opportunity Now Colorado Grant

Building Resilience from the Ground Up

ICLEI Intern drives climate resilience through building electrification, energy efficiency, and community‑based solutions in Telluride.
Degree
Masters of the Environment
University
University of Colorado- Boulder
Student
Danniel Tigreros
Intern Spotlight
ICLEI Core Internship

A New Chapter in Agricultural Sensing

Real-time data could result in better crop yields and reduced water and fertilizer usage
Co-founder and CEO
Elliot Strand
Co-founder
Payton Goodrich
Company
PAGE Technologies
Location
Boulder, CO
Impact Spotlight
NSF ASCEND Engine Translation Grant 2024

From Fireline to Frontline: Working for a Heat‑Ready Grand Junction

Former wildland firefighter Eloise Armour helps Grand Junction prepare for extreme heat with data-driven insights as an ICLEI CORE Intern.
Degree
Master of Science in Ecology and a Master of Environment
University
Western Colorado University
Student
Eloise Armour
Intern Spotlight
ICLEI Core Internship