National Science Foundation awards $10M to the University of Nebraska System for STEM support

A University of Nebraska program has been awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) opportunities across the state.

The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) received the four-year grant to strengthen statewide research partnerships and expand STEM opportunities.

EPSCoR programs across the country are designed to boost research investments in states that have historically received less federal research funding. In Nebraska, the programs focus on building research capacity and competitiveness, investing in workforce development and fostering public-private partnerships in STEM.

The recently announced project, called Nebraska Strengthening Partnerships for Innovation, Research and Education (NSPIRE), is the first in Nebraska for a new funding category called EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems (E-CORE), designed to strengthen Nebraska’s research and innovation ecosystems.

The initial 2026-2030 NSPIRE project focuses on adding paths for careers in STEM and strengthening connections to science in Nebraskans’ daily lives.

“The NSF award recognizes the importance of collaboration in driving innovation,” University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said in a press release. “The NSPIRE project will strengthen connections between research, education and community engagement while expanding opportunities for our students, communities and state.”

Matt Andrews, director of Nebraska’s NSF EPSCoR Office, professor with the UNL School of Natural Resources and principal investigator on the project, said NSPIRE will also support programming to boost STEM experiences for students, K-12 teachers and higher education faculty.

“NSPIRE looks forward to collaborating with higher education partners across the state, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Southeast Community College, Mid-Plains Community College and Creighton University,” Andrews said in the press release.

The Young Nebraska Scientists program — offering summer STEM experiences and year-round free mobile labs for classrooms statewide for more than 15 years — is one of several funded initiatives.

In the last 35 years, EPSCoR projects have brought in more than $217 million in science funding to the state of Nebraska, including a Center for Root and Rhizobiome Innovation and Nebraska’s Emergent Quantum Materials and Technologies collaboration.