Rep. Chu Applauds NSF Grant for Caltech

The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced a multi-million dollar grant to promote innovation throughout Southern California. As part of the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) initiative, the newly created I-Corps Node will be administered by Caltech, the University of South California, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), whose district includes Caltech, released the following statement: “This grant recognizes Southern California’s role as a leader in research and innovation. Our institutions, particularly Caltech, are attracting the brightest minds and producing next generation discoveries. By encouraging new partnerships beyond the labs, the new I-Corps Node will help generate more entrepreneurship, transforming the Southern California landscape into an even more research-friendly area and bringing new opportunity to the Los Angeles region,” said Rep. Chu. “With Caltech’s existing success in creating new startups and their role with the Jet Propulsion Lab, the I-Corps Node will mean new advancements from space travel to consumer goods.” The regional innovation center will be headquartered in Los Angeles. The NSF hopes to create a network of innovation hubs throughout the country, connecting Southern California institutions to existing Nodes in the bay Area, New York, Washington, DC, Georgia, and Michigan. NSF is also adding a Node in Texas. The funding initiative will create an I-Corps Node that will have a social and economic impact by uniting public and private institutions located in the Los Angeles region.