$25M federal award will expand robotics development, entrepreneurship, outreach

On Friday, Sept. 2 at a White House press conference, President Joe Biden announced Nebraska’s Heartland Robotics Cluster as one of 21 recipients of the $1 billion American Rescue Plan Regional Challenge. The Heartland Robotics Cluster, is led by Invest Nebraska and includes the College of Engineering as one of six project leads, will receive $25 million in support. The funding is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).

As part of the $25 million EDA investment, the Heartland Robotics Cluster will enhance Nebraska’s technology growth in agriculture and manufacturing production with research and development of robotic technologies. The funding will support growth of College of Engineering instruction in robotics and teaching laboratories for robotics along with robotics-related research. Additionally, statewide workforce outreach programming and education led by community colleges will help rural areas utilize state-of-the-art technology. An expansion of Nebraska Innovation Studio will empower innovators to create better automation and robotic solutions in agriculture and manufacturing that will augment regional economic growth.