Turning environmental data into real-world impact across Colorado and Wyoming
The ASCEND Engine’s strategy (2026–2029) for accelerating discovery, innovation, and workforce development across the Colorado-Wyoming I-25 Innovation Corridor
Building an integrated innovation ecosystem
The ASCEND Engine is building an ecosystem that connects researchers, entrepreneurs, communities, and policymakers capable of sustained innovation and impact across the region.
Over the next three years (2026–2029), the ASCEND Engine will transition from establishing foundational partnerships, research programs, and infrastructure to delivering integrated, scalable solutions for environmental resilience along the Colorado–Wyoming I-25 Innovation Corridor.
- Building a resilient ecosystem that connects researchers, entrepreneurs, communities, businesses, and policymakers.
- Launching large-scale, cross-disciplinary programs that integrate sensing, analytics, and decision tools.
- Strengthening pathways from discovery to deployment to achieve real-world impact.
- Developing the next generation of innovation talent through education, training, and entrepreneurship programs anchored in the Colorado–Wyoming I-25 Innovation Corridor.
ARID: Asset Resilience through Intelligent Digital Twins
ARID addresses the growing threat of wildfire on power and water utilities. The program integrates high-resolution risk characterization, physics-informed ignition prediction, near real-time fire weather modeling, early fire detection through quantum-enhanced thermal imaging, and post-wildfire water quality monitoring into an integrated digital-twin platform.
SHIELD: Soil Health Innovation, Evaluation and Demonstration
SHIELD will establish a unique network of real-world field-level soil health test sites across dry and irrigated cropland and grassland in the CO-WY region. The program accelerates scalable measurement technologies, unprecedented soil health characterization, and adaptive management capabilities powered by ecological-scale digital twins.
Launching in 2027: Extreme Weather Prediction
Our third program will focus on the cross-cutting area of high-resolution weather prediction applied to critical economic challenges such as hail and wildfire smoke forecasting.
This intentional phasing allows the Engine to mature promising early investments before scaling.
MOONSHOT PRIZE
In 2027, we will launch a large-scale Moonshot Prize focusing on the soil health measurement scalability challenge. The prize will be a competitive, global competition and will be run in partnership with XPRIZE.
The ASCEND Engine’s technical focus
Unlike traditional research programs, the NSF ASCEND Engine’s strategy is intentionally integrated. Each Technical Area is designed to reinforce the others — sensing feeds analytics, analytics informs decisions, and decisions reveal new questions for sensing — enabling outcomes no single area could achieve alone.
- Air, water, and soil monitoring
- Distributed and low‑cost sensor networks
- New sensors that unlock previously inaccessible signals
- Predictive modeling and simulation
- Digital twins and integrated system models
- Trustworthy AI for high‑consequence decisions
- Operational decision‑support tools
- Technology commercialization
- Co‑creation with end users to ensure relevance and adoption
From discovery to deployment
Paired with each flagship R&D program, accelerator participants gain direct access to the R&D program’s enabling infrastructure, research teams, and pilot environments.
A technology-to-CEO matching program that pairs promising R&D projects with experienced executives to form new startup companies.
Innosphere will launch an ASCEND-aligned venture fund to address the capital gap in the region. Innosphere Fund III, targeted $100M, is a regional fund targeting advanced industries in ASCEND technologies and other key U.S. technologies.
The ASCEND Engine will engage its corporate partners' open innovation programs to identify areas of strategic focus and intersection with ASCEND technologies and Engine use cases.
A new stage-specific scaleup program to serve companies that have graduated beyond the accelerator stage and require targeted support for later-stage commercialization.
Postdoctoral fellows interested in commercializing breakthrough technologies from their lab can apply to receive financial support and mentorship from the ASCEND Engine.
Workforce development
Get Involved
Whether you represent a corporation, government agency, foundation, investor, startup, or research institution, there is a meaningful role for you in the ASCEND ecosystem.
Get involved
The ASCEND Engine’s strategy is grounded in active partnerships with leading research institutions, federal laboratories, technology companies, and public-sector agencies across our region.
Talk to our Partnership Director Emily Wilson.
