ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded an $8 million competitive grant to the Louisiana Board of Regents to strengthen and expand the state’s STEM research and development (R&D) enterprise.
The Louisiana Networks of Excellence for Tomorrow (LA-NEXT) program is a transformative, four-year initiative in partnership with Louisiana State University and A&M College, Louisiana Tech University, Southern University and A&M College, and the University of New Orleans.
The project is also designed to engage K-12 as well as business and community leaders. By connecting stakeholders to the state’s resources, facilities, and opportunities, LA-NEXT will cultivate an environment of collaboration that brings transformative change to STEM research and education in the region.
As NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan noted about this funding program, “EPSCoR is a driving force in enabling STEM research for everyone, everywhere, ensuring broad access to innovation and opportunity”. LA-NEXT is fully responsive to this mandate, devoting significant resources to engage students and faculty at every institutional level and across the state in STEM research, support diverse STEM-related career pathways, facilitate the pursuit of advanced degrees, and leverage state and federal investments in workforce development.
“LA-NEXT’s initiatives and investments will create a vibrant, statewide ecosystem where STEM research, education, and workforce development activities are seamlessly integrated across institutions ranging from K-12 schools to Carnegie R1 universities, and more broadly into communities throughout Louisiana,” said Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Commissioner of Higher Education.
LA-NEXT focuses on materials and manufacturing, bioscience and biotechnology, energy solutions, and environmental solutions, supported by cross-disciplinary fields such as data science, computational science, and cybersecurity. Misti Cordell, Chair of the Board of Regents, noted that “the emphasis of LA-NEXT on disciplines and training in demand in Louisiana, and essential for the high-skill, high-wage jobs of the future, is an important component of our statewide drive to prosperity.”
“We are excited about this competitive award for Louisiana,” said Dr. Michael Khonsari, Associate Commissioner for Research and Louisiana EPSCoR Project Director. “The project’s investments will enhance our ‘Networks of Excellence’ in critical science and technology areas, catalyzing competitive research and strengthening the state’s highly skilled workforce. This initiative will position Louisiana as a leader in STEM innovation and economic development.”
Louisiana was one of four states to receive an NSF E-CORE award to support research and STEM workforce development. These grants are part of the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR), which aims to bolster research competitiveness among 28 targeted states and territories.
The initiative is rooted in Fostering Innovation through Research in Science and Technology in Louisiana (FIRST Louisiana) 2030, the second iteration of the state’s evolving Science and Technology (S&T) plan, approved by the Board of Regents in January 2024. Funded by the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and led by the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees the Louisiana EPSCoR program and coordinates the state’s public higher education system, LA-NEXT is poised to build capacity in strategic STEM areas critical to Louisiana’s future.
The FIRST Louisiana 2030 plan can be accessed at link.laregents.edu/FirstLA2030.
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Contact
Chris Yandle, Ph.D., APR, Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
chris.yandle@laregents.edu • 985-373-5845