奥本大学获国家科学基金会600万美元拨款：四年推动科研成果从实验室走向市场
位于阿拉巴马州李县奥本市的奥本大学11月5日宣布，该校获得美国国家科学基金会（NSF）总额600万美元、为期四年的奖助。这笔资金来自基金会的「加速研究转化」（Accelerating Research Translation，简称ART）计划，目标是帮助高校教师把实验室里的科研成果，沿着创办初创企业、与行业伙伴合作、技术许可等路径推向实际应用与市场。
负责创新与伙伴事务的助理副校长帕特里克·里德（Patrick Reed）将领导这项计划。里德表示，这笔奖助将扩大奥本大学把发现转化为影响力的能力，让教师的成果更快走出实验室、服务产业与社会。计划强调的不只是单项技术，而是为全校建立一套可持续的转化机制。
具体安排上，计划内设「启动创新基金」（Launch Innovation Fund），为处于早期阶段的概念验证项目提供单项最高5万美元的支持，帮助研究团队验证技术可行性与市场潜力；同时新设「教师创业工作室」（Faculty Venture Studio），由拉卡米·贝克（LaKami Baker）领衔，她同时是I-Corps创业培训项目的认证讲师，将陪伴有意创业的教师走完从想法到公司的早期路程。
该计划资助的第一个项目已经确定：由马克·莱尔斯（Mark Liles）领衔的益生菌加果胶涂层种子处理技术，旨在用有益微生物包覆种子、提升作物表现。农业是奥本大学的传统强项，这一项目也被视为科研转化落地的首批样本。
在实施层面，佐治亚大学研究基金会将担任该计划的导师机构，为奥本大学提供经验指导。奥本大学表示，未来四年将依托这笔资金持续遴选校内项目，把更多科研成果推向初创企业、行业合作与许可协议，让联邦科研投入产生更广泛的经济与社会回报。
（来源：奥本大学）
Auburn University Awarded $6 Million NSF Grant: A Four-Year Push to Move Research From Discovery to Impact
Auburn University, located in the city of Auburn in Lee County, Alabama, announced on November 5 that it has been awarded $6 million over four years by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The funding comes through the foundation's Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program, which helps universities move faculty research toward real-world use through startups, industry partnerships and technology licensing.
Patrick Reed, assistant vice president for innovation and partnerships, will lead the effort. Reed said the award will expand Auburn's capacity to turn discovery into impact, helping faculty move their work out of the laboratory and into industry and society — building not just individual technologies, but a durable translation pipeline across the university.
Two new structures anchor the plan. A Launch Innovation Fund will provide up to $50,000 per project for early proof-of-concept work, helping research teams test technical feasibility and market potential. A new Faculty Venture Studio, led by LaKami Baker — also a certified instructor in the I-Corps entrepreneurship training program — will guide faculty founders through the earliest stages of building a company.
The program's first funded project has already been selected: a probiotic-plus-pectin seed coating treatment led by Mark Liles, designed to coat seeds with beneficial microbes to improve crop performance. Agriculture is a traditional strength at Auburn, and the project is expected to serve as an early model of translation in action.
The University of Georgia Research Foundation will serve as the program's mentor institution, sharing experience with Auburn's team. Over the four-year award period, Auburn says it will keep selecting projects from across campus and steering more of its research toward startups, industry collaborations and licensing agreements, so that federal research investment delivers broader economic and social returns.
(Source: Auburn University)
来源：奥本大学
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：奥本大学地标建筑萨姆福德堂（Samford Hall）。图片来自 Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Samford Hall, the landmark building of Auburn University. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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