Kentucky is awarded a multi-million dollar grant to grow a new state-wide energy economy.
Lawmakers and University leaders from the Bluegrass gathered at the University of Kentucky Wednesday to announce a new statewide partnership aimed at improving the energy, environmental and industrial economies across Kentucky.
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said Rodney Andrews, who is the Director of UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research, will serve as the principal investigator on a state-wide research infrastructure improvement project involving all eight Kentucky publicly funded universities and our Kentucky Community and Technical College system.
It took two years to complete the application process for the EPSCoR grant which is explained in a document that is more than 500-pages long. Governor Steve Beshear said it was time well spent to ensure that the state secured the funds needed to develop sustainable, engineered bio-systems and a diversified STEM workforce. Beshear believes “this research I think is going to be all important for the future of our economy and the future of the economy of the country and the world.”
The $20-million dollar grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation.