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Over the past two months, the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has been focused on identifying and supporting groundbreaking climate resilience projects across the region. This included launching the first round of investments in Research and Development and Translation/Startup projects with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program. Interdisciplinary, collaborative teams from across the region’s leading universities and startup companies answered the Engine’s request for proposals with an overwhelming and diverse range of climate resilience solutions.

Governors Jared Polis of Colorado and Mark Gordon of Wyoming collaborated to announce the recipients of the inaugural grant program by the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine. This partnership signifies a new phase in the joint efforts of the two states to create climate resilience solutions that safeguard communities, encourage innovation, and stimulate economic development.

“Colorado is leading the way in addressing climate change and using innovative solutions to become more resilient in the face of its impact. I’m thankful for Wyoming and Governor Gordon’s partnership and openness to work together to drive innovation, strengthen public-private partnerships, and make the region more climate resilient. These projects will help secure our water future, protect Coloradans from wildfire dangers, and protect our air and I am excited to see them in action,” said Governor Polis.

“When Wyoming joined the engine, we were focused on identifying and addressing specific Wyoming issues, including the impacts of droughts and wildfires,” Governor Gordon said. “Wyoming and Colorado may not be in alignment on many issues, but I will always support efforts within each of our states to benefit our citizens.”

The CO-WY Engine received nearly 50 proposals across two areas: R&D, which focuses on catalyzing the commercialization of university-based projects, and Translation/Startups, which supports bringing early-stage commercial solutions to scale. The winning projects address key issues in climate resilience in our region, including water security, wildfire prediction and response, extreme weather modeling, soil carbon sequestration, and methane emissions mitigation. These projects build on and strengthen critical capabilities in advanced sensing and data science, positioning Colorado and Wyoming at the forefront of innovation nationally. These projects demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships and investments in innovation to drive meaningful impact. 

For more information about future proposal requests and opportunities with the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine visit .

University of Colorado Boulder Winners of the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine Request for Proposals

Use-Inspired Funding

Wildfire Risk and Prediction
Project title: Mapping Vulnerability: Assessing the Built Environment’s Susceptibility to Wildfires through AI and Big Data.
Principal investigator: Virginia Iglesias, PhD ()
Lead institution: University of Colorado Boulder
Key partners: CoreLogic, CyVerse

Translational Funding

Complex Earth Sensing/Soil Carbon Capture Data & Analytics 
Project title: Next-Gen Soil Monitoring: Wireless Printed Sensors for Agriculture 
Principal investigator: Elliot Strand (BEEM Lab, College of Engineering and Applied Science)
Company name: Page Technologies
Key partners: Syngenta Group, University of Wyoming, 3 Rocks Ranch, Colorado State University, Growing Gardens, Meshcomm Engineering