Contact: Maridith Geuder
Mississippi State continues to reach new heights in sponsored research contracts and grants.
For the 1999-2000 fiscal year ending June 30, the university received a record $93.5 million in external research funding, a 30 percent increase from $71.8 million the previous year.
Robert A. Altenkirch, vice president for research, said the funding involves more than 1,300 sponsored projects at the university. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services, along with the National Science Foundation, were among the major funding agencies.
"Our faculty members are committed to seeking funding aggressively to address the needs of our state," Altenkirch said. "These totals reflect their success in competing with researchers at universities around the nation for available funding opportunities."
As an example, he pointed to the Rural Health, Safety and Security Institute, recently established through $2.2 million in funding from the U.S. Office of Rural Health Policy. Based in the university's Social Science Research Center, the new institute will address ways health-damaging behaviors can be improved through social intervention strategies.
Also, a Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute was announced by vice president Charles Lee of the agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine division to examine ways biotechnology can improve agriculture, forestry, animal health, and environmental quality. It is being supported by a $1.2 million grant from the Jackson-based Hearin Foundation.
Among the list of ongoing commitments, the MSU Remote Sensing Technologies Center continues work through a five-year NASA grant to apply space technology to agriculture, forest management and transportation.
"These research funds and others translate into benefits for Mississippi and beyond," Altenkirch said.
The $93.5 million in research support is in addition to $13.9 million in federal financial aid funds received at the university, he added.
In addition to record-level research funding, Mississippi State recently was notified of several related achievements. Among others, they include:
--Inclusion in the 148 top tier national "doctoral/research extensive" universities as rated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching from among nearly 4,000 American higher education institutions.
--Research totaling $26.4 million that elevated the College of Engineering to 42nd on the American Society for Engineering Education list of national engineering colleges.
--A National Science Foundation ranking of 59th among public universities for total institutional research expenditures.
A university goal is to rank among the nation's top 50 public universities. Research expenditures--which include all funds used in the operation of a research project--totaled about $111 million in 1998-99, the most recent year reported to NSF.