Portland State University has received a $5.9 million National Science Foundation Accelerating Research Translation (ART) grant, the largest NSF grant in PSU history. The three-year award will help turn groundbreaking university research into new products, startups, industry partnerships, and economic opportunities across Portland and Oregon.
The grant represents a major investment in PSU’s growing research and innovation ecosystem and will help bridge the gap between discoveries made in the lab and their real-world applications.
Turning Research Into Real-World Impact
PSU researchers are making advances in areas with significant commercial and societal potential, including artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, semiconductors, transportation, and infrastructure. As the university’s research enterprise continues to grow, the ART grant will provide new resources to help move promising discoveries beyond the university and into the hands of the people, companies, and communities that can benefit from them.
The work will focus on three connected strategies:
- Cultivate: Building a stronger campus culture around translational research and helping faculty identify opportunities to bring their research into the marketplace.
- Elevate: Supporting promising discoveries through seed funding, expanded evaluation resources, and training opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
- Accelerate: Helping research-based startups and projects connect with customers, revenue, investment, industry partners, and the broader regional innovation ecosystem.
Building on the Strength of Propel PSU
The grant builds on the foundation of Propel PSU, the university division that brings together innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology commercialization.
Through Propel PSU, this work will connect researchers with resources across the university's innovation ecosystem, including the Portland State Business Accelerator, Oregon AI Accelerator, Innovation and Intellectual Property, the Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub, and the Center for Entrepreneurship.
For the Center for Entrepreneurship, this investment creates exciting opportunities to further connect entrepreneurship education with the groundbreaking research happening across PSU. As more discoveries move toward commercialization, students and researchers will have greater opportunities to explore entrepreneurship, develop new ventures, and bring innovative ideas into the world.
From Discovery to Startup
Three inaugural projects already demonstrate the range of innovations this grant will support. These include:
- A resource-efficient single-photon LiDAR system with potential applications in robotics and mobile technology.
- A non-invasive wearable glucose sensor being developed and validated with partners including Oregon Health & Science University.
- A hand-held satellite ground station connected to PSU’s OreSat satellite program, with both commercial and STEM education applications.
These projects represent just the beginning of a larger effort to help PSU discoveries become products, licenses, startups, and industry partnerships.
A Major Moment for PSU Innovation
This historic NSF award comes at a pivotal time for Portland State. With research activity continuing to grow and Propel PSU bringing together key resources for innovation and commercialization, the ART grant will help strengthen the pathway from research to impact.
By supporting researchers, students, entrepreneurs, and industry partners, this investment will help create new opportunities for innovation while contributing to Oregon’s economy and strengthening PSU’s role as a driver of regional growth.
As PSU continues to put its motto, “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” into action, this grant marks an exciting new chapter—one that will help transform ideas and discoveries into companies, jobs, partnerships, and solutions for the future.