Turning Data into action for Community Resilience

Uniting Science, Technology, and Industry for a Resilient Future

The NSF ASCEND Engine connects research, capital, and industry to develop and deploy technologies that strengthen community resilience—transforming Colorado and Wyoming into a nationalhub for environmental innovation.

Read the Latest ASCEND Updates

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 diverse conditions, ranging from high-desert plains to mountain ecosystems, present a unique opportunity to develop, test, and scale next-generation technologies that 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 U.S. National Science Foundation has announced that the NSF ACSEND Engine in Colorado-Wyoming is an inaugural NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines). The ASCEND Engine will initially receive up to $15 million for the next two years. Through the NSF Engines program, NSF aims to expand the frontiers of technology and innovation, spur economic growth across the nation, and transform entire geographic regions into world-leading hubs of innovation.

The NSF ASCEND Engine is a groundbreaking initiative, set to catalyze a series of significant outcomes that will reshape the landscape of advanced sensing and computational analytics technology and regional economic development in Colorado and Wyoming. These technologies - spanning from environmental monitoring to predictive analytics - aim to empower communities, governments, and industries to effectively navigate and adapt to the multifaceted challenges posed by emerging natural hazards.

By focusing on innovative solutions in areas like wildfire mitigation, water resource management, sustainable agriculture and adaptation to extreme weather events, the NSF ASCEND Engine is poised to revolutionize how we understand, predict and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather.

The NSF ASCEND Engine is set to have a profound impact on workforce development and community engagement.

OUR PARTNERS

Strategic Partnerships

Partnerships that sustain the Engine’s activities include aligning with our region’s assets: federal laboratories, research universities, policymakers/government offices/economic incentives, tribal communities, workforce centers, community colleges, and industry and corporate partners.

Research & Development

We recognize the growing risks posed by increasing drought and water scarcity, both in the U.S. and around the world. Our work is guided by the priorities of the communities most impacted.

Translation of Innovations

We have the means to turn data into action —  bringing innovative solutions to market to address the most pressing needs of our diverse communities.

Workforce of the Future

Grow the labor force through apprentices, internships, and work-based learning programs, focusing on recruitment and retention from rural communities.

10 Year expected outcomes aim to generate significant economic impact:

22K

EMPLOYMENT
GROWTH

$1.5B

GROSS DOMESTIC
PRODUCT

5K+

INDIVIDUALS TRAINED
FOR WORKFORCE

Tech. Science. Accelerated.

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