America stands at a crossroads. In a world defined by technological upheaval and strategic competition, the choices we make today will shape the future of our country—and the world—for decades to come.
This week in the Texas Hill Country, a quiet gathering met to face this moment head on.
More than 200 of America’s most talented scientists, founders, investors, and national security leaders convened for the first-ever Endless Frontiers retreat–a working summit inspired by Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report, Science: The Endless Frontier. The goal is to grapple with how to rebuild the foundations of American strength in an age of intensifying global competition.
The retreat was filled with bold ideas–moonshot projects that could transform defense readiness, reindustrialize the country, rebuild civic cohesion, and reimagine the pipeline for scientific and technical talent. But as any innovator knows, ideas are just the beginning. What we need to do now is provide a way to sustain those ideas and help them take root.
That’s why we’re proud to announce the launch of the Endless Frontiers Institute (EFI)--a new home for the ideas, people, and partnerships emerging from the retreat. EFI isn’t just a think tank. It’s a platform designed to help bring the retreat’s vision to life–by incubating new ideas, accelerating existing efforts, and connecting public and private partners to drive execution for the national interest.
EFI will be housed initially at Baylor University, a founding sponsor and an institution known for its deep commitment to ethical leadership, transformative research, and national service. Our hope is to create a long-term engine for progress: one that will operate year-round to identify promising projects, accelerate new talent, and support the teams and institutions building America’s future.
Here is our commitment: Each year for the next decade, Endless Frontiers will convene as it did in 2025—bringing together the people and ideas shaping America’s future. Through the Institute, we’ll work year-round to turn the most promising concepts into reality by tackling the long-term challenges that stand in the way. That could mean launching a new research collaboration, creating a bridge for technical talent to enter government, or providing catalytic funding for transformative ideas. Our focus is on bridging the gaps that too often block breakthrough innovation: early-stage support, institutional silos, misaligned incentives, and a growing lack of civic trust.
As practitioners, we know these challenges are real because we face them every day. Technological innovations in areas like advanced manufacturing, AI, biotechnology, and aerospace are notoriously risky to incubate, let alone scale. They demand long-term thinking, significant investment, strong support from both the public and private sectors–the types of commitments that we’ve not yet been able to cement in society. And while they are inherently riskier than traditional technologies, they are also to securing economic competitiveness and national security in America. Our history shows that we need these technologies now more than ever.
But as we saw during the Endless Frontiers retreat, America is full of builders, scientists, and thinkers with the courage to try the hardest things. EFI is not only a bet on them, it’s a bet that America is still the greatest country in the world in which to innovate.
We believe that America’s next great institutions and technologies are already being imagined. America has always had the skill, grit, depth, and imagination to turn the world’s toughest problems into opportunities and solutions.
EFI’s mission is to help make that possible, year after year, retreat after retreat.
Rebuilding American strength won’t happen in one summit or one season. But with sustained investment in people, ideas, and enduring partnerships, we can ignite a decade of action—and perhaps another century of American greatness. Join us.
Dr. Kevin Chambliss, Vice Provost for Research
Jordan Blashek, Co-Chair of Endless Frontiers
