Research Funding at UB Hits Record $239.7 Million

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Research funding at the University at Buffalo increased by more than 28 percent during the 2002 fiscal year (FY 2002), increasing to $239.7 million, representing a growth of $52.9 million over the previous year.

The record-high funding included a 33 percent increase in funds received from the federal government, which jumped by $32.2 million, from $96.6 million in FY 2001 to $128.8 million in FY 2002.

While the books on the 2002 fiscal year -- the period from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002 -- closed more than six months ago, the data collected through the National Science Foundation's Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges were released only within the past month.

Jaylan S. Turkkan, UB vice president for research, said "the fact that federal research awards have increased so much definitely will move UB up in the national rankings. That means we will be able to attract better faculty, and better students."

Saluting the hundreds of UB researchers whose hard work accounts for the increased funding, Turkkan added: "What's behind the numbers are faculty members who do world-class research while juggling courses they teach, home lives and community service.

"And the faculty are getting savvier about grant submissions," Turkkan noted. "For example, their success in getting an NIH grant the first time they apply has doubled in the past year."

UB researchers whose funding is included in the report include those at the university, at affiliated teaching hospitals and at UB's Research Institute on Addictions.

Turkkan's comments were echoed by UB President William R. Greiner and UB's provost, Elizabeth D. Capaldi.

"We are very pleased by the progress we've made in the past year in research funding -- progress that speaks directly to the outstanding efforts and ability of our faculty to secure both research dollars and increased national recognition for the important work they do on a daily basis," said Greiner.

Greiner noted that "while this increase in funding will only improve UB's standing as New York State's largest and most comprehensive research university, perhaps even more importantly, it demonstrates the depth of our commitment to our research mission: We are dedicated to continually expanding the boundaries of our knowledge and to sharing the benefits of our discoveries.

"Our faculty is comprised of the best and brightest," Greiner added. "We count ourselves fortunate to have such gifted, dedicated researchers working in our academic community, and we look forward to continued progress in the year ahead."

Capaldi praised all of the researchers involved in UB's record-breaking effort, stressing that "faculty across the university have done an outstanding job in the brutal competition for research funds at the federal level.

"The largest increases occurred in the life sciences, but especially large increases also occurred in engineering and chemistry," Capaldi added.

"Our increased success reflects the increasing emphasis on federal funding in the university, and the quality of the faculty. Only the very best receive federal funding and we are very proud of our increased success."

The NSF survey data show that 88 percent of the $239.7 million in research funding received by UB during FY 2002 was for basic research where the primary goal is a fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject under study as opposed to a specific application as in applied research.

Federal funding accounted for 53.7 percent of research funding at UB during FY 2002, with the next largest category, institutionally financed organized research, accounting for $48.4 million, or 20.2 percent of the total. While research funding from state and local governments amounted to only $9.6 million during FY 2002, that amount represented an 85.4 percent increase in that category over FY 2001.

The Department of Health and Human Services was the major source (63.7 percent) of federal funding for UB researchers in FY 2002, with a total of $82 million. The next two major federal funding sources were the Department of Defense, with 14.6 percent of total funding ($18.8 million), and the National Science Foundation, with 11.9 percent of the total, or $15.3 million.

Research in the life sciences accounted for $168.6 million in funding, or 70.4 percent of the total FY 2002 research funding of $239.7 million, with funding of medical research totaling $111 million, or 46.3 percent of the grand total. Engineering research was the second-largest category of funding -- $37.9 million. Within the engineering category, the two leading subcategories were civil engineering ($14.1 million) and mechanical engineering ($12.4 million). Funding for research in the physical sciences totaled $13.6 million, with the largest subcategory being chemistry ($10.4 million).