STORY
September 8, 2011 /
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Research funding for CU scientists reached $790 million last year

By Jay Dedrick

Faculty researchers at University of Colorado campuses secured more than $790 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2010-11 to advance scientific work in laboratories and in the field.

Preliminary numbers indicate the university’s sponsored research funding for 2010-11 falls below the $884 million final tally in 2009-10. However, one-time federal stimulus dollars of an estimated $145 million allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) boosted the total received in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Sponsored research funding is targeted for scientific projects, and universities cannot divert these dollars to fund non-research related expenses such as utilities, compensation, student financial aid and grounds maintenance. Besides funding specific projects, research dollars help pay for research-related capital improvements, scientific equipment, travel and salaries for research and support staff and student assistantships.

Research provides not only scientific gain, but economic gain. In fiscal year 2010, CU research led to the creation of 83 new businesses. Federal, state and local agencies provide these critically needed funds that support researchers and serve as a barometer of academic and research advancement.

Of the $790 million in sponsored research funding received in fiscal year 2010-2011, more than $542 million came from federal sources; more than $248 million from nonfederal sources.

Funding by campus:

•    University of Colorado Boulder, nearly $359 million, including:

  • A National Science Foundation six-year, $5.9 million grant to continue intensive studies of long-term ecological changes in Colorado’s high mountains, both natural and human-caused, throughout decades and centuries.
  • A $28 million instrument developed to study changes in the sun’s brightness and its impact on Earth’s climate. It was one of two primary payloads on NASA’s Glory mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Feb. 23.

•    University of Colorado Colorado Springs, more than $12 million, including:

  • A $499,645 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop programs that protect students from victimization and build healthy relationships.
  • A $750,000 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education grant from the U.S. Department of Education to enable a group of southern Colorado colleges and universities to work cooperatively to increase the number of southern Colorado residents who attend college.

•    University of Colorado Denver and Anschutz Medical Campus, more than $419 million, including:

  • A U.S. Department of Education grant for $398,834 for the first year of a three-year award, with the potential three-year award total of $1,198,674. The study will determine if differential outcomes for children with autism in the recently completed LEAP – USA efficacy trial continue to manifest themselves during a three-year follow-up period.
  • A $2.77 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Health Care Research and Quality that will allow researchers, health policy experts and clinicians to understand the impact of health care interventions on health outcomes for minority, underserved and socioeconomically disadvantage populations by supporting observational comparative effectiveness research.

Other granting agencies included the U.S. Department of Commerce, Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Energy Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.