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Columns::October 29, 2001
It takes a village
Research professor receives ‘MERIT’ award from NIH
Killer diagnosis
Gearing up for the future
Well-connected: Internet access is now in 96 percent of UGA residence hall rooms
E-mail distribution list being developed for major UGA news
New Peach State Poll surveys Georgians about public policy issues
Linguistics professor examines effectiveness of vernacular speech
College of Pharmacy names assistant dean for MCG pharmacy programs
Newsmakers
Heads up
Campus News
Research figures show increase for fiscal year 2001
By Judy Purdy
jbp@ovpr.uga.edu
UGA research expenditures and extramural funding both showed an increase during fiscal year 2001, according to the Office of
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the Vice President for Research, with a significant increase in the amount of external funding awarded for research.
Expenditures in fiscal year 2001 rose to $272 million, a 5.4 percent increase over the previous year. At the same time, awards to UGA researchers fueled a 9.5 percent increase in overall awards from state, federal and private sources, which totaled $174 million. Of that amount--which includes support for research, instruction, public service and cooperative extension--funding for research experienced the largest growth, totaling $123 million. That number represents a 20 percent increase over research awards in fiscal year 2000.
Research funding from the National Institutes of Health increased to $25.9 million, a 72 percent jump over the previous year. Research awards from the National Science Foundation rose 80 percent to $20.3 million. The U.S. Department of Energy was the third-largest federal agency source, with a 16 percent increase to $13.9 million in fiscal year 2001. Additional awards at UGA’s Agricultural Research Station brought the total from DOE to $14.5 million.
“We had an 8 percent increase in extramural research awards for FY 1999, a 12 percent increase in FY 2000, and now a 20 percent increase in FY 2001,” says Provost Karen Holbrook. “I think this year confirms a trend--we are on the move in terms of attracting outside funding, particularly federal funding. The ability of our faculty to win increased support from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation is most impressive.”
Funding from the 25-plus federal agencies that UGA serves rose overall by almost 29 percent. “This is good for the university and for the regional economy,” says President Michael F. Adams. “We continue to bring substantial economic strength to the state from outside sources.”
Several UGA faculty received very large new grants. Bi-Cheng Wang, the Ramsey-Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Structural Biology and a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, is lead investigator on a five-year, $23 million NIH grant to study the structure of proteins. He and his collaborators--four other UGA researchers plus scientists at several other universities--received one of seven grants funded under the NIH structural genomics initiative.
Linda Labbo, an associate professor in the College of Education’s School of Teacher Education, received the largest new federal grant awarded to an individual investigator. With a $5.6 million, multi-year grant from the National Science Foundation, Labbo will study best practices, including technology, for preparing teachers to enhance children’s literacy and reading achievement.
Steven Stahl, a professor in the School of Teacher Education, received a five-year, $5 million NIH award to improve reading fluency in young children. Kenneth Hay, assistant professor of instructional technology and research scientist in the Learning Performance Support Lab, is using a new, three-year $0.9 million NSF grant to create a teacher professional-development model that involves the emerging learning technology of virtual reality modeling.
Other faculty who received large federal grants in fiscal year 2001 include Gene Brody, an Institute for Behavioral Research Fellow and Research Professor of Child and Family Development. He will study prevention of alcohol use among African-American youth with a new NIH grant, which has a five-year value of $3.1 million.
Andrew Granville, David C. Barrow Professor of Mathematics, received a $2.5 million, five-year grant from NSF. Math department faculty will use the grant to continue to develop a broad, well-rounded learning environment for undergraduates, postdoctoral fellows and especially graduate students.
Research grants from private sources included a $0.9 million Mason Trust grant to Marie Chisholm, associate professor of clinical and administrative sciences. Chisholm will use the grant to expand her study of a statewide medication-access program for organ-transplant patients in Georgia. The Carnegie Foundation awarded Gary Bertsch, director for the Center for International Trade and Security, $400,000 to study the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“The faculty are the ones who write the grants, and they deserve the bulk of credit for the university’s outstanding growth,” says Gordhan Patel, vice president for research and associate provost. “During the past academic year, we recruited another cohort of exceptionally qualified faculty members, and it is expected that they will set up aggressive research programs.”
“Expenditures and awards indicate the strength of a university’s research programs, and they also are an important benchmark among the nation’s major research universities,” says Regina Smith, associate vice president for research, who oversees the administration of sponsored research activity at UGA.
“Each year, the National Science Foundation uses the annual research expenditure figures to determine national rankings among American research universities,” says Smith, who expects UGA’s standing in several of the NSF rankings to move up.
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