Contact: Joe Farris
Federal funding for research at Mississippi State grew by 18.4 percent in fiscal year 2002 over the previous year, compared with a 13.6 percent growth rate among all universities, the National Science Foundation has reported.
MSU had the 18th highest percentage increase in expenditures of federal research funds among the more than 600 institutions surveyed by NSF.
Federal support grew from $65.5 million for MSU projects carried out in FY 2001 to $77.5 million for research done in FY 2002. The numbers come from NSF's newly released report, "Academic Research and Development Expenditures: FY 2002." The report is online at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf04330/ .
Nationwide, the 13.6 percent increase in funding for academic research was the largest since 1980, although funds from industry fell by 1.2 percent for the first decline since 1964.
MSU ranked 25th in the nation in FY 2002 in Defense Department funding for research, according to another recent report, this one by the RAND Corp., a nonprofit policy analysis organization.
The publication, "Vital Assets: Federal Investment in Research and Development at the Nation's Universities and Colleges," also lists MSU as 14th in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding and 41st in Department of Energy support in FY 2002. The report may also be read at http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1824/ .
MSU also receives research funding from NASA, NSF, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies.