{"id":67355,"date":"2015-07-27T15:50:11","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T19:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=67355"},"modified":"2019-07-05T11:37:35","modified_gmt":"2019-07-05T15:37:35","slug":"ucf-awarded-department-of-energy-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-awarded-department-of-energy-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Awarded Department of Energy Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Central Florida region is on its way to becoming one of the country\u2019s premier areas for the development of innovative clean energy technologies and solutions, due to the efforts of the UCF, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). \u00a0UCF recently has been awarded a grant from the DoE to help inspire the next generation of clean energy entrepreneurs and cultivate an ecosystem of innovation and commercialization in the region.<\/p>\n
Through the recently launched Cleantech 海角直播 Prize (Cleantech UP), a new DoE-supported initiative to accelerate the rate of clean energy innovation in the nation, UCF will serve as one of eight regional Cleantech UP competition sites and will facilitate a yearly collegiate challenge and cultivate an ecosystem to support the clean energy entrepreneurs from Florida and the entire Southeast United States. \u00a0Additional funding details and program activities are anticipated to be announced soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to be selected by the DoE to serve in a leadership role in driving clean energy innovation,\u201d said Thomas O\u2019Neal, Ph.D., associate vice president at UCF\u2019s Office of Research and Commercialization. \u00a0\u201cCleantech UP is an exciting new effort that will allow us to continue the momentum in building a clean energy infrastructure within the region and inspiring students in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UCF Office of Research and Commercialization<\/a> (UCF ORC) has extensive experience coordinating cleantech-oriented programs and competitions and cultivating appropriate support networks and infrastructure. In addition, the university features a history of implementing high impact, entrepreneurially focused curricula.\u00a0 \u00a0Most recently, UCF worked closely with the DoE on implementing two cleantech focused efforts \u2013an annual cleantech accelerator which was designed to identify and support promising cleantech technologies throughout the Southeast, and the Florida Cleantech Acceleration Network (FL-CAN), which created a statewide support network and \u201cproof of concept\u201d center for cleantech entrepreneurs. \u00a0These programs served more than 200 ventures that went on to raise more than $5M in follow-on funding on their paths to commercialization.<\/p>\n