September 18, 2025 (AMES, IA) – At a special Capitol Hill event co-hosted by the (NSF) and the , on September 18, 2025, RuralSTAMINA – Ascending Rural communities through Sustainable, Transformative, Advanced Manufacturing INnovations and Alliances – was announced one of 15 finalists in the NSF competition.
“Securing America’s place at the forefront of science and technology requires growing innovation capacity everywhere so that we can, in turn, aggressively accelerate the pace of development of key technologies,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “The NSF Engines finalists have consistently communicated their strong vision for placing their regions on the map as the national and world leaders in key technologies, demonstrating their commitment to advancing U.S. research, innovation and workforce development. We congratulate each team on making it to this stage of the competition.”
The Iowa State University-led RuralSTAMINA project is focused on bolstering the economy and vitality of rural communities in Iowa and Nebraska by creating a bioeconomy-focused innovation ecosystem in the region. Combined, both states lead the nation in agricultural production, making them heavily reliant on the farm economy. Commercialization of innovations in biomass conversion and biomanufacturing – and developing an advanced manufacturing workforce to power the economy – will enable the Engine to create new value-added products from things that grow in the region.
More than 70 public and private partners across these two agricultural powerhouse states currently share the project’s vision of economic growth and prosperity for rural stakeholders. In addition to Iowa State, the core partner institutions include: University of Iowa; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Southeast Community College; Des Moines Area Community College; BioConnect Iowa; the Iowa Biotechnology Association; and Invest Nebraska.
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Originally published by Iowa State University Office of the Vice President for Research in September 2025