SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Oregon BEST grows and focuses the state’s shared network of university researchers and laboratories in two strategic areas:

Sustainable Built Environment Products and Services (performance assessment, energy systems and efficiency, green building materials, and building/community design)

Renewable Energy Generation (solar, biofuels/biomass, wind, wave, and geothermal)

Our charter is to make the state’s businesses globally competitive by transforming and commercializing university research into new companies, services, products, and jobs that power Oregon’s economy.

NETWORK OF RESEARCHERS AND SHARED-USER FACILITIES

Oregon BEST Member Faculty are international experts in sustainable built environment and renewable energy research. Their university labs, test facilities, and research technicians are part of a shared-user network of research tools worth millions of dollars that are available for collaborative efforts with industry partners. Read more about Oregon BEST's solar energy research network and sustainable built environment research network.

INVESTING IN RESEARCH FUELS OREGON’S ECONOMY

Strategic investments by Oregon BEST return millions of dollars of outside research funding and create dividends through accelerated research and public-private partnerships that enable on-the-ground business opportunities for citizens throughout Oregon.

Investing matching funds in competitive research proposals from Oregon faculty helps secure outside funding for Oregon universities from federal, foundation, and industry sources. A $35,000 match through Oregon BEST's Proposal Matching Program helped OSU researchers leverage a $358,000 grant from the Bonneville Power Administration to demonstrate new technologies for storing power generated by wind turbines. Read more…

Deploying strategic, targeted investments at Oregon universities, Oregon BEST is helping build a unique network of shared-user facilities throughout the state that enhances industry competitiveness, increases Oregon’s research capacity, and better positions researchers seeking competitive grant funding.

Investing in business-university collaborations through the Oregon BEST Commercialization Grants Program helps Oregon businesses working with Oregon university researchers more quickly attract the funding necessary to commercialize research into new products and technologies...ultimately creating new, clean-tech jobs for Oregonians.

Modest seed-fund investments by Oregon BEST have jump-started fledging university research projects and attracted follow-on funding from other sources. An Oregon BEST seed investment in a green roof research team at PSU was doubled by the U.S. Green Building Council, fast-tracking development of a software tool that will help builders and architects better design green roofs for specific locations. Read more…