Two NC State-based research projects were awarded the inaugural Catalysts of Innovation Prize given through a collaboration between UNC-Chapel Hill, the Research Triangle Park and the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science (KIETS) at NC State.

In addition to receiving grants, the awardees will have the opportunity to work out of The Frontier, RTP’s central meeting point, giving them the opportunity to network with the community.

EcoPRT, an elevated rail project conceived by two NC State professors in 2013, received $165,000 in grant money to help them reach their goal of “establishing RTP as a center for automated transportation research and development.”

EcoPRT will be made up of electric, self-driving pods to be installed around the Engineering Oval on Centennial Campus and then expanded to Western Boulevard to connect to Central Campus.

The Medical Innovators Collaborative (MEDIC), a veteran-founded nonprofit collaboration of the UNC & NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, was awarded $85,000 in grant money to help “support the innovation lifecycle and community by providing asset assessment and development, innovation training, industry relevant professional seminars, student internships and an IP Safe Haven.”

EcoPRT and MEDIC will have two years to work on their projects within The Frontier before they will be expected to communicate their findings and take action, according to RTP’s website.

“Through this partnership, RTP is excited to see what happens when we bring diverse groups of people together focused on complex projects in one place,” said Mason Ailstock, chief operating officer of RTP. “Our organization is committed to creating places at the Park Center development that embody the spirit of this contest in physical form. This is a great way for us to test and learn from those ideas while helping push cutting-edge research forward.”