Sun Grant Association
The Sun Grant Association is a consortium of land-grant universities in the United States that serve as regional centers for the Sun Grant Initiative. As laid out in the Sun Grant Research Initiative Act of 2003, sun-grant universities have a purpose to research and develop biobased energy. The initiative was initially authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill, and has been renewed by subsequent farm bills. The federal Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and Department of Transportation are partners in the program. The sun-grant program, along with the sea- and space-grant programs, make up the three national grant programs based on the original concept of land-grant universities.
Sun-grant universities
The following six universities house a regional center or subcenter.- South Dakota State University – North Central Regional Center, composed of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
- University of Tennessee – Southeastern Regional Center, composed of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.
- Oklahoma State University – South Central Regional Center, composed of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
- Oregon State University – Western Regional Center, composed of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associated states.
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – Pacific Subcenter, composed of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associated states.
- Pennsylvania State University – Northeastern Regional Center, composed of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.