Celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the 'CHIPS and Science Act of 2022' — and what it means for America's new innovation frontier

It's been two years since Congress passed and the Biden administration signed into law the bipartisan "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022," a historic piece of legislation that established the U.S. National Science Foundation's first new directorate in more than three decades, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). As we reflect upon the remarkable journey that has brought us to today, we could not be prouder of the leadership and efforts of our growing team, our colleagues across NSF, our partners at other federal agencies and in the private sector and all of you for seizing upon this generational moment to build upon NSF's longstanding mission and power a new frontier in American innovation for the mid-21st century. 

As NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan has stressed, TIP is focused on creating opportunities everywhere, because innovation can happen anywhere. And indeed, in just a couple short years, we have been intentional about attempting to engage with and impact every corner of the nation, powering a new generation of talent and technology that will ensure the U.S. remains in the vanguard of competitiveness for decades to come. 

On this anniversary, we want to take a moment to briefly highlight some of our key milestones over the last few months since our last quarterly update. But before we do, here are a few links that capture the full breadth and depth of TIP's portfolio since its founding March 2022, as well as a look ahead to what comes next: 

  • See the investments that TIP has made nationwide since 2022 on a new pilot portal, which showcases the scale and impact of TIP's investments in key technology areas across the nation. This project, featuring a map and award data, allows the American public a new way of seeing the scale of TIP's investments in key technology areas and their impacts on national, societal and geostrategic challenges. 
  • Read the TIP investment roadmap that will guide the directorate as we stage investments in key technology areas. Required by the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022," the investment roadmap identifies four near-term TIP focus areas that will drive the development of new use-inspired and translational funding opportunities, infrastructure investments and workforce development efforts to address key vulnerabilities to U.S. competitiveness. In tandem with these technology-specific investments, many of TIP's programs will continue to welcome proposals spanning the full breadth of key technology focus areas. 
  • Find a full timeline of TIP's updates over the last couple years on the TIP timeline webpage. 

TIP Directorate achievements since the "CHIPS and Science Act"

Building America's new industrial innovation base through diverse regional innovation ecosystems 

TIP remains committed to fostering a new industrial innovation base for the U.S. by catalyzing diverse regional innovation ecosystems. In partnership with U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration's Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, leaders from the NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) that NSF launched in January traveled to Washington, D.C., in July to participate the first-ever Innovative Capital Summit. The event brought together stakeholders from industry, academia, philanthropy and government to foster collaboration and spark American innovation and competitiveness by connecting NSF Engines to investors.  

In response to the newest NSF Engines funding opportunity, TIP recently published nearly 300 letters of intent (LOIs) spanning every U.S. state and territory. The LOIs are a first step in applying to become one of the next NSF Engines and joining a network of diverse regional coalitions making a positive impact in their communities. By transparently publishing LOI data, we aim to encourage proposers to connect and create regional teams for greater effectiveness in their regions and key technology areas of focus. Preliminary proposals for the funding opportunity were due this week, and we expect to again publish data from the submissions to foster transparency and teaming nationwide.  

Over the past two years, the NSF Convergence Accelerator steadily continued the work of building upon basic research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward national and societal impact. TIP made awards across multiple Convergence Accelerator tracks and launched new tracks to offer researchers and innovators a chance to accelerate their research toward tangible solutions that make a difference. In April, TIP announced the expansion of the NSF Convergence Accelerator from a single national program to 10 regionally focused NSF Convergence Accelerators that will enhance competitiveness in research, innovation and workforce development and address pressing regional societal and economic challenges. As part of this expansion effort, TIP recently announced a funding opportunity to establish a Regional Anchor for the program's Midwest Region.  

Accelerating technology translation and development 

Even beyond the technological innovation enabled through the regional ecosystems described above, TIP has initiated strategic and focused investments in key technology areas, bringing academia, industry, government, philanthropy and nonprofits together around topics critical to U.S. competitiveness. This past year, TIP launched four new, technology-specific solicitations: -  

Part of TIP's commitment to accelerating technology translation and development is helping translate research results to the market and society. The directorate is working to streamline the process for entrepreneurs to get access to the resources necessary to bridge the many different gaps between the research lab and society and reduce administrative burden for both small businesses and NSF. With this focus in mind, this summer TIP launched the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Fast-Track pilot, which allows companies to develop new products and services based on NSF-funded research conducted in the last five years. The pilot operates by requiring periodic reviews that can unlock more than $2 million per project, focusing on what matters most: getting innovations from the lab to the market and society expeditiously.  

TIP is also committed to the long-term work of accelerating technology translation and development by to aligning science and technology research and development investments with outcomes essential to U.S. competitiveness. Last month, TIP announced the first-ever Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes investment in five teams with a potential of up to $51.4 million over five years. This investment will help organizations assess and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. research and development endeavors and create models and information for decision-makers to optimize investments and advance long-term U.S. competitiveness.  

Developing a STEM workforce  

As we work to accelerate technology translation and development and grow innovation ecosystems, we also recognize the need to develop resources and train a skilled workforce in key technology areas. To help graduate students develop the skills and competencies needed to embark on careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in May TIP announced the NSF Research Traineeship Program Institutional Partnership Pilot, a new track of the NSF Research Traineeship program led by the NSF Directorate for STEM Education (EDU). 

Earlier this summer, the NSF Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) program invested more than $30 million across three tracks to nearly 40 awardees at U.S. institutions of higher education and nonprofits to expand practical STEM learning opportunities and grow U.S. jobs. Launched by the TIP and EDU directorates, ExLENT helps ensure that all workers have access to essential opportunities to gain on-the-job training in good-quality, well-paying jobs, helping ensure upward socioeconomic mobility and U.S competitiveness. ExLENT aims to expand practical learning opportunities for individuals interested in entering or gaining more experience in key technologies as outlined in the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022." The investment earlier this summer builds upon an award portfolio announced in September 2023; at the time, the ExLENT program invested in 27 projects in the Pivots and Beginnings tracks. 

Together with the CHIPS for America Research and Development Office within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), NSF signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly invest in a new initiative to train the future semiconductor workforce at all levels for job types across industry and the nation. As a first step, NSF and DOC are jointly issuing a public Request for Information seeking input from the community to inform the new initiative. The memorandum of understanding paves the way for the creation of a National Network for Microelectronics Education led by a Network Coordination Hub that will oversee a suite of regional consortia and other efforts that offer consistent, rigorous, engaging curricula, instructional materials, experiential opportunities and more to talent throughout the U.S. This work across government continues establish diverse pathways for Americans to engage in the high-quality semiconductor jobs of the future. 

Over the past two years, TIP — together with the rest of NSF — has paved the way toward a new frontier in American innovation, driven by use-inspired and translational research and talent development. We are meeting people where they are to engage all Americans in STEM, power breakthrough technologies and ensure the nation's competitiveness and security for generations to come. We thank all of you who have been on this journey these last two years. Here's to the next two, and many more.   

Sincerely, 

Erwin Gianchandani 
NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships 

Gracie Narcho 
NSF Deputy Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnership 

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