By Amanda Alaniz

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – SEPT. 19, 2024 – A UTRGV business professor has earned important recognition for his dedication to helping students and members of the university community interested in energy technology.

Derek Abrams, RCVCOBE associate professor of practice for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, recently was awarded the inaugural 2024 Faculty Explorer Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, as part of the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP).

The national collegiate competition – called EnergyTech UP – is sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions and works in partnership with American-Made Challenges. It is for students and faculty focused on entrepreneurship that is designed to grow clean energy technology and solutions.

The competition primarily focuses on student teams, with cash prizes for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential and creating a business plan.

In 2024, EnergyTech UP opened a track to recognize and support faculty at colleges as they explore, develop and implement educational activities. The end game is engaging more students in energy technology commercialization and entrepreneurship.  

Abrams, associate director for UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization, received his award in February 2024 and was one of 10 Faculty Explorer award recipients for showcasing a proposal promoting energy entrepreneurship.

Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan, chief commercialization officer for the DOE and director of its Office of Technology Transitions, said the EnergyTech University Prize is a significant accomplishment.

“This award represents a special honor for all faculty awardees and their universities, with national visibility in the areas of entrepreneurship and energy technology commercialization,” she said.

Abrams, the UTRGV Faculty Research Fellow for Technology Transfer and Commercialization in the Division of Research, also received the 2024 EnergyTech UP Faculty Track Runner-Up Award. He competed in the faculty track portion of the competition alongside faculty from 46 institutions across the country.

“These awards, just like the awards earned by others in the UTRGV community, help to signify UTRGV’s rising national prominence,” he said. “We have outstanding students, faculty, staff and university leaders here, all working together to enhance the institution, educate our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and support the Valley community at large.”

Abrams also had the opportunity to serve as faculty mentor to a student-track finalist team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the EnergyTech UP competition.

He said that, going forward, he wants to be more involved with the EnergyTech Up program as well as other DOE initiatives. And, he plans to provide intellectual property education for UTRGV students.

“Energy is a critical field for the United States,” Abrams said. “There are DOE career paths and competitions for students, funding support for researchers, and business opportunities for entrepreneurs who are interested in the energy field. The EnergyTech UP competition is just one of many ways to get started or involved.”

EnergyTech UP 2025 will open during fall 2024 for students and faculty to enter the respective competitions.