SCRA awards nearly $4 million to South Carolina colleges and universities
August 20, 2024
Lectures and term papers won’t be the only things happening in the state’s colleges and universities as faculty and students return this fall. Some will work on life-saving innovations such as cancer vaccines and new ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Others will develop hydrogen fuel cells to produce more efficient energy.
This is why the South Carolina Research Authority continues to provide funding to accelerate innovation in South Carolina’s academic institutions. The three-year grant program, SACT (SCRA-Academic Collaboration Team), awarded $3,860,000 to Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, the College of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina.
Pictured (left to right): Chase Kasper, Senior Deputy Director, CURF, Jianhua Tong, Professor, Clemson University, Chris Gesswein, Executive Director, CURF, Tressa Gardner, Associate Vice President for Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), Michael Stokes, Director of Business Development for Infintium Fuel Cell Systems, Mark Roth, Associate Director of Business Development, CURF.
SACT is divided into two tracks. Track One: Lab to Market, to bring academic-owned technologies to the market, and Track Two: Capacity Building, to improve the institution’s ability to advance innovation. Clemson, MUSC, and USC received Track One funding, $860,000 each, and Coastal Carolina and the College of Charleston received Track Two funding, $640,000 each. The institutions also contribute matching funds to increase project funding totals.
SCRA Chief Program Officer Russell Cook said, “Our mission is to fuel South Carolina’s innovation economy. These academic institutions are crucial in creating innovation through use-inspired research and development, solving real-world problems, and accelerating economic development.”
Track One Grantees: Lab to Market
- Clemson University is developing a highly compacted hydrogen fuel cell prototype that is longer-lasting and more energy-efficient.
- The Medical University of South Carolina is bringing three important innovations into the marketplace: a cancer vaccine, an antibiotic-eluding implant device, and a burn-wound gel.
- The University of South Carolina is developing better ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Track Two Grantees: Capacity Building
- Coastal Carolina University will be improving its processes to conduct research and development in biomedicine and kinesiology.
- The College of Charleston will be improving its collaboration with interdisciplinary teams and industry partners to conduct research and development in engineering solutions for global logistics.
The SACT grant supports the development of commercially relevant technology emanating from our state’s colleges and universities. Such outcomes generate tangible solutions that have the potential to create lasting economic and societal benefits.
About SCRA
Chartered in 1983 by the State of South Carolina as a public, nonprofit corporation, South Carolina Research Authority fuels the state’s innovation economy through the impact of its comprehensive services to technology-based startups, academia, and industry. SCRA provides funding and support to accelerate the growth of academic startups; high-quality lab and administrative workspaces; facilitation and funding for partnerships between and among industry, startups, and academic institutions; assistance and funding for the relocation of technology-based companies to South Carolina; and coaching and funding for startups that may also receive investments from its affiliate, SC Launch Inc.
