Summerville, S.C. – Today, South Carolina Research Authority’s SCRA-Academia Collaboration Team (SACT) announces nearly $600,000 in feasibility grants for six projects. The awarded projects encourage collaboration between academic institutions and industry partners to advance commercially relevant research and establish the feasibility of the formation of Collaboration Centers. These Collaboration Centers will be founded for those areas demonstrating a critical mass of talent, infrastructure, financial resources, intellectual property and the prevalence of industry in South Carolina.
“These Feasibility Grants are the first step in establishing Collaboration Centers, which will garner national recognition for South Carolina, create jobs, engage industry and have an overall positive impact on the state.” said Christine Dixon Thiesing, Director of Academic Programs. “SCRA is fostering the growth of collaboration across academic institutions and between academia and industry through the support of six innovation projects.”
The Feasibility Grant Awards are the result of the efforts of the SACT, which was formed to deliver outcomes aligned with the Strategic Collaboration Agreement signed by SCRA and the presidents of the state’s research universities. The SACT is composed of representatives from the research universities, comprehensive teaching institutions, technical colleges, industry and SCRA. The SACT is currently evaluating the feasibility of establishing three Collaboration Centers – a Composites Industry Solutions Center, Medical Devices Collaboration Center, and Technology-Enabled Population Health Collaboration Center.
The list of grant awardees is below:
Composites Industry Solutions Center:
Collaboration among Clemson University, Greenville Technical College and industry partners Kistler Instrument Corp., Keyence Corporation of America and Renishaw.
Medical Devices Collaboration Center:
Collaboration between the Medical University of South Carolina and Clemson University.
Technology-Enabled Population Health Collaboration Center:
Collaboration among the Medical University of South Carolina, Trident Technical College and industry partners Zeriscope, Inc. and Amanda Senior Care.
Collaboration between Francis Marion University and a regional health organization as the industry partner.
Collaboration among University of South Carolina – Upstate and industry partners ChartSpan Medical Technologies and a state agency.
Collaboration among Clemson University, Florence-Darlington Technical College’s Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology and industry partner Greenville Health System.
SCRA is a state-chartered corporation that fosters job creation and grows South Carolina’s Innovation Economy. The SC Launch program is SCRA’s entrepreneurial platform that provides mentoring, grants and investments to qualified, South Carolina companies in the Advanced Materials/Manufacturing, Information Technology and Life Sciences industries.
About SCRA
Chartered in 1983 by the State of South Carolina as a public, non-profit corporation, SCRA fosters South Carolina’s Innovation Economy by supporting entrepreneurs, enabling academic research and its commercialization, and connecting industry to innovators.
