The challenge for academic research centers in Wisconsin and elsewhere is to stand out in the crowd once Congress passes the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act or a related version. Assuming the NSF is the primary reviewer of tech hub proposals, it may likely pay more attention to ideas that involve collaborations with multiple partners than a host of stand-alone proposals.
That appears to be the approach being followed in Illinois, where the University of Illinois College of Engineering, IBM and state government unveiled plans for a Discovery Accelerator Institute on the Champaign-Urbana campus. Other campuses will likely be involved over time. The long-range goal in Illinois is spurring breakthroughs in areas such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, accelerated materials discovery and sustainability.
Wisconsin has the research assets to compete, whether on sustainability, genomics, quantum computing or other NSF hub…
