The Nevada EPSCoR Research Incubator for STEM Excellence (e-RISE) is a University of Nevada, Reno–led initiative to grow Nevada's research capacity and national competitiveness in a strategically chosen scientific domain. Built on a multi-institutional consortium of Nevada's strongest research and civic organizations, this project responds directly to NSF's EPSCoR mandate: build sustainable, jurisdiction-wide research ecosystems that raise Nevada's standing in the national science enterprise.

NSF's E-RISE program (NSF 25-522) funds hypothesis-driven or problem-driven research incubators in EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions like Nevada. The current solicitation supports awards of up to $8 million over four years, with renewals possible for strong performers. E-RISE is particularly interested in emerging and interdisciplinary research areas with high potential societal impact — exactly where Nevada has competitive advantages.

Nevada is an EPSCoR jurisdiction, meaning it has historically received a smaller share of NSF funding relative to its scientific capacity. E-RISE is designed to permanently change that by building lasting research infrastructure, developing a skilled STEM workforce, and creating the cross-sector collaboration networks that sustain science beyond any single grant.

An E-RISE incubator must pursue a clear, testable research hypothesis or problem — it is not a general coordination or workforce program. Our project is organized around a focused scientific topical area aligned with Nevada's Science and Technology Plan, with five NSF-required pillars woven throughout. The research goal drives everything: partner roles, workforce activities, and sustainability plans all connect back to the science.

In practice, this means recruiting faculty co-investigators and senior personnel who can directly contribute to the research, not just provide letters of support. It means identifying industry partners who can host embedded researchers and provide real-world testbeds. And it means building the organizational backbone — including a Networking/Partnership Manager — that keeps the consortium aligned and productive over four years.

Nevada has compelling strengths in the right domains: UNR's R1 research classification and engineering depth, DRI's nationally recognized environmental and water research, UNLV's metropolitan-scale capacity, Great Basin College's rural reach, and strong industry sectors in mining and critical minerals, renewable energy (especially geothermal), advanced manufacturing, and water systems. E-RISE will connect these assets into a coherent, fundable research network.

UNR serves as lead organization. NSF requires that each participating organization be represented by a named PI, co-PI, or senior personnel — not just an institutional letter. We are actively recruiting co-investigators and collaborators across all five E-RISE pillars, with special urgency around industry research partners and a networking/partnership manager (both new requirements in NSF 25-522).

Partner organizations must provide a brief letter of collaboration — required from every named partner before the full proposal is submitted to Research.gov. Named partners also need a PI, co-PI, or senior personnel contributor identified in the proposal. See the Get Involved section for the exact NSF letter format and contact information for the PI team.