Top 100 Federal Grant Recipients at UB to be Honored

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo will honor faculty members who have received the largest amounts of federal grant dollars with a reception to be held from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Anderson Gallery, Martha Jackson Place, Buffalo.

One hundred faculty members representing fields ranging from education and assistive technology, to pediatrics and special environments will be recognized for their efforts to obtain highly competitive federal funding for their research.

Federal funding obtained by the 100 researchers being honored represents 74 percent of all active research awards at UB, and 82 percent of all federal funding the university receives.

"These 100 grant recipients not only represent the best and brightest of UB's talented researchers, but also epitomize what we strive for as a public research university -- to continually push the boundaries of our knowledge and to share the benefits of our discoveries," said UB President William R. Greiner.

"We at UB count ourselves fortunate to have such gifted, dedicated researchers working in our academic community, but we know that their contributions extend well beyond the walls of the university. The impact of their research is profound and wide-ranging, so it's a great pleasure to see them receive the national recognition and support they so richly deserve."

Obtaining federal support is a measure of the quality of the faculty, said Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi.

"Only the very best investigators compete successfully for federal funding," she said. "With the aid of its excellent faculty, UB's federal support has grown steadily. This improves the university's national reputation and produces economic impact in Western New York. The federal government estimates 29 jobs are generated by every $1 million of grant dollars."

Federal research grants are among the most prestigious sources of funding a researcher can receive, said Jaylan Turkkan, UB vice president for research.

Research universities are ranked nationally by the amount of federally sponsored grants and contracts they receive in all disciplines, she said.

Researcher from across the nation compete for federal funding, and grant proposals are evaluated in an extremely rigorous review process. Proposals are peer reviewed, allowing other experts in the field to make recommendations about researchers' work. As a result, only the most highly qualified research proposals receive funding.

"This reception celebrates the people who have survived that intensely competitive process and have had their research vetted by the top people in their field. The studies they're proposing are of extremely high quality," Turkkan said.

"We are honoring the people who had the courage, determination, tenacity and resourcefulness to obtain this important source of research funding."

Faculty members were chosen based on a "snapshot" of total active federal awards for reporting year 2002, including multi-year awards.