Notable "Every research dollar awarded to a university generates an additional $4 for the state economy and that every $1 million in university research creates about 41 jobs in a state." Related topics Life sciences research news at KU Subscribe now to receive KU News by email

Contact: Ranjit Arab, University Relations, (785) 864-8855.

KU research efforts flourish in 2000

LAWRENCE -- Led by a $4 million private gift to create a world-class brain imaging center in Kansas City and a $10 million federal grant to fight cancer, research efforts at the University of Kansas had a banner year.

Although exact research funding totals for fiscal year 2000 will not be available until early next year, KU officials estimate the figure will be about $190 million, which would mark an increase of about 13 percent from the previous year. The total includes grants from federal, state and local government, industry and other sources for science-related research, and non-science research and training.

The funding brought an estimated $760 million into the Kansas economy and created about 7,800 jobs throughout the state, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce formula. The Commerce Department estimates that every research dollar awarded to a university generates an additional $4 for the state economy and that every $1 million in university research creates about 41 jobs in a state.

"The magnitude of research conducted at KU this last year has been simply remarkable," said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. "It speaks highly of the level of work of our faculty, and it is placing us closer to our goal of being among the top 25 public research universities. But more importantly, it indicates a commitment to improving the quality of life for many more people."

Robert Barnhill, vice chancellor for research and public service and president of the KU Center for Research, said goals for research efforts at KU include a doubling of research funding over the next five to seven years.

The following projects were among those receiving research funding in 2000:

 • KU Medical Center to Create World-Class Brain Imaging Center
The KU Medical Center will soon be one of only three facilities in the nation with the capability of safely scanning the brain of a fetus in the womb, thanks in part to the largest private gift for a building project in the Medical Center's history. The $4 million gift from Forrest and Sally Hoglund will help establish the Hoglund Center for brain research, which will also assist Kansas City in its initiative to become a national leader in life sciences research. The center, scheduled to open in fall 2002, will enable scientists to study developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and stroke, while providing KU Med patients access to MRIs and other advanced brain-imaging methods. An additional $1.8 million in federal funding, obtained through the assistance of Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and $1 million appropriated by the Kansas Legislature will help buttress this private/public partnership. Read more...

 • KU Connects Kansas Researchers to Fight Cancer
Researchers throughout the state are now fighting cancer on five different fronts, thanks to a group of scientists led by a KU professor. Gunda Georg, distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry, organized the effort that led to the five-year $10 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant from the National Institutes of Health. Georg searched resumes of junior faculty researchers at KU, Kansas State University, and Emporia State University, finding projects that overlapped and could benefit through collaboration. The result is statewide collaboration in research on ovarian cancer, lung cancer, childhood leukemia and tumor growth. Read more...

 • Assistance for Science Education Teachers Across the State
A $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help KU, Kansas State University and 10 Kansas school districts develop a teacher retention program for math and science teachers. Joe Heppert, professor of chemistry at KU, is the lead investigator for the project.

 • Internet2 upgraded
KU continues to upgrade its Internet2 infrastructure on campus through a $1 million congressional appropriation made possible by Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan. KU's current infrastructure helps support the Great Plains Network, which provides researchers from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas access to cutting-edge Internet2 applications.

 • Internet2 Project Will Keep an Eye on Agricultural Conditions
Researchers in KU's Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program are using satellite images and the high-speed Internet2 to provide farmers with information on soil and vegetation conditions. This will help farmers manage their soil and help policymakers establish a more comprehensive carbon credit program. The project is funded through a $1 million congressional appropriation made possible by Sen. Roberts.

 • Database Monitors Levels of Greenhouse Gases
A $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will allow researchers at the Energy Research Center and the Kansas Geological Survey at KU to help develop a digital database to monitor greenhouse gases. The Midcontinent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational Database will be developed by the geological surveys of Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Tim Carr, Kansas Geological Survey, is the project leader. Read more...

 • KU Receives Largest Number of Humanities Grants
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded research fellowships to five KU faculty members -- more than any other university this year and the most ever in one year for KU. The five fellowships will help research the affect of information technology on legal knowledge; the political and religious beliefs shown in medieval Chinese Buddhist sculpture; female Muslim scholars; why the colonization of North America became necessary for England; and Latina women writers from the 1920s and 1930s. Read more...

 • Independent Living Center Empowers People with Disabilities
Helping people with disabilities participate fully in society is the aim of a recent five-year, $2.5 million grant awarded to KU's Research and Training Center on Independent Living by the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Glen White, associate professor of human development and family life, is the principal investigator. Read more...

 • Streamlining Computer Access
Through a $1.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, scientists at KU's Information and Telecommunication Technology Center are working on enabling computer users to access their own desktop files from any computer on a network through voice-recognition and thumbprints. Gary Minden, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at KU, is the principal investigator. Read more...

 • KU Researchers Help Count All Living Creatures Under the Sea
Through two grants totaling $1 million, KU Natural History Museum researchers will work on the Census of Marine Life project administered by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. Ed Wiley, curator of fishes, and Daphne Fautin, curator of invertebrates, are leading the two projects. Read more...

 • The Universe: Big Bang or Big Crunch?
Will the universe continue to expand or will it reach a limit and contract in one final Big Crunch? That's the question Adrian Melott and Hume Feldman, KU physics and astronomy professors, hope to answer. They have received a $329,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop and analyze maps of the universe. By determining how much matter -- and therefore how much gravity -- there is in the universe, they hope to gain a better understanding of the universe's future.