Research and Innovation Office (RIO)

The Delta Air Lines flight flew from MSP to New York using fuel blended with winter camelina, a cover crop that Minnetonka-based Cargill helped grow.

University of Minnesota startups Carba and Aza Power Systems are included in a new initiative, Minnesota Energy Alley.

The Research and Innovation Office is excited to announce the recipients of the 2024 Social Justice Impact Grants. 

Researchers at the AI Institute for Climate-Land Interactions, Mitigation, Adaptation, Tradeoffs and Economy aim to leverage artificial intelligence to create more climate-smart practices that will absorb and store carbon while simultaneously boosting the economy in the agriculture and forestry industries.

Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry, which presents unique challenges for anti-trafficking organizations. Design Against Trafficking, an initiative by University of Minnesota College of Design Northrop Professor Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, adds design as a tool in the fight against modern day slavery.

Rural Minnesotans are losing access to obstetric care. This trend is not unique to Minnesota; it’s happening across the country, and the UMN Rural Health Research Center has been conducting research on rural maternity care for more than a decade. 

UMN startup Q-rounds is focused on fixing the breakdowns in communication between care providers and families of hospitalized patients which are one of the greatest causes of serious medical errors, some even leading to death.

Dozens of communities in every part of the state are already benefiting from the University of Minnesota’s new Empowering Small Minnesota Communities program.

The University of Minnesota launched 25 startup companies in fiscal 2024, surpassing its previous record for the fourth year in a row. 

The Research and Innovation Office has awarded $2.6 million to 13 projects as part of the 2024 Research Infrastructure Investment Program.