UW Sets Research Funding Record

Oct. 25, 2006 -- The University of Wyoming received $70 million in external contracts and grants in fiscal year 2006, breaking its own record for the 20th consecutive year.

The total exceeds last year's record of slightly more than $65 million in sponsored research funding. Over the past 20 years the amount of external awards has more than tripled and the amount of growth has outpaced both the inflation rate and the percentage growth of federal research and development funding.

"Maintaining a string of 20 consecutive years of increase, through good and bad years in the Wyoming economy, is a notable achievement. It is hard to think of anything that has shown a year to year increase for 20 years," says Bill Gern UW vice president for research and economic development. "It is an achievement of singular importance brought about by the excellent work of many University of Wyoming faculty members."

Guidance provided by the university's Academic Plan to identify areas to strengthen is showing rewards, according to Gern.

"We strengthened our capabilities and received increased funding in areas such as natural resources, molecular biology, ecology, materials and computational sciences," he says. "We are seeing a strong culture of scholarship in many departments -- this culture is what sets research universities apart."

Many UW departments focus on hiring new faculty members known for their success in obtaining funding, so more new faculty arrive at UW with funding in hand, says Gern. He adds that the addition of endowed professorships has contributed to UW's funding success.

"It is clear that UW is very attractive thanks to our growing reputation and increases in state funding, especially for salaries and new facilities," Gern says.

UW continues to see an increase in single investigator-initiated awards. More faculty hold awards than anytime in the past. Additionally, the university continues to attract large awards that support both research centers and institutional change. This year UW obtained a Research Infrastructure Initiative award from the National Science Foundation, funding the Program in Ecology. It supports science teacher training and builds undergraduate and graduate student participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

With a recent major award funding a Center of Biomedical Excellence in the Neurosciences totaling more than $10 million for five years, UW will receive almost $40 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Research Resources. As a result, more faculty members hold awards from the NIH than from any other federal agency, and NIH is UW largest federal funding agency.

Beyond the economic importance that $70 million dollars in external funding brings to the state of Wyoming, UW researchers this year disclosed a record number of inventions and technologies through the Research Products Center (RPC), a technology transfer center that identifies, protects and licenses UW technology.

"We are seeing important additions to the Wyoming economy stemming from inventions derived from faculty research," says Tony Nevshemal, RPC director .

UW also received funding for research and service centers that do specific research important to Wyoming, Gern says, citing projects conducted by the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, the Wyoming Natural Diversity Data Base, and the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center, which provides services previously offered through the Wyoming Statistical Analysis Center and the Survey Research Center.

Posted on Wednesday, October 25, 2006