Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State collected a record total of more than $154.7 million in external grants and contracts for a variety of research and education programs during the 2006 fiscal year.
The total of $154,744,232 in outside funds supported some 2,267 sponsored projects during the fiscal year that ended June 30. The amount represented a significant increase over the university's previous record of $150,045,912 recorded in FY2004.
The latest award total did not include an additional $17.6 million in state student financial aid channeled to MSU during the year.
"Research at MSU is contributing mightily to the state's economic progress and is improving the quality of life for many Mississippians," said Colin Scanes, vice president for research and economic development.
"I'm impressed by the quality and hard work of this faculty and staff," he added.
The FY2006 awards included more than $99.3 million from federal agencies, more than $29.2 million from Mississippi state agencies, and another $26.1-plus million from a diverse combination of private and other governmental sources.
MSU's agricultural and natural resource programs generated $66.2 million in external grants and contracts during the fiscal year, including funding to develop alternative energy sources and to support the state's livestock, forestry and food production enterprises.
"It is encouraging to see the level of support for research and educational programs that touch the lives of so many Mississippians," said Vance Watson, vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine. "Agriculture and natural resource enterprises remain a cornerstone of the state's economic activity and programs that benefit them benefit all of Mississippi."
MSU engineering programs generated more than $48.7 million in external funds.
Among the larger individual awards was a $9.6 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Applied Sciences Directorate to the university's GeoResources Institute. GRI is helping NASA develop a computerized, one-stop Earth science research database that could have global research impacts on such diverse issues as climate change, bioterrorism, transportation and population trends.
"Our rapid prototyping capability will jumpstart NASA's new system so that it can be used more quickly," said Robert J. Moorhead, the professor of electrical and computer engineering who serves as GRI's associate director for research.
MSU's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory received an additional $8 million through the Advanced Technology Directorate of the U.S. Army's Space Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala. The money is funding continued development of an ultra-light, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed to improve surveillance and communication capabilities for battlefield and border-patrol operations.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Scanes at 662-325-3570 or scanes@research.msstate.edu.