KU research funding surpasses $200 million for first time in school history

LAWRENCE -- Total research expenditures at the University of Kansas eclipsed the $200 million mark for the first time in school history during fiscal year 2001, according to officials at the KU Center for Research.

KU's total research expenditures during fiscal 2001 topped $224 million, an increase of about 16 percent from the $193 million in fiscal year 2000.

Science and engineering research accounted for $156 million in expenditures, while training and non-science research accounted for about $68 million.

Part of the dramatic rise in total expenditures is attributed to the increase in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Officials said that the NIH awarded KU more than $53.5 million in fiscal year 2001 -- an increase of about 23 percent from the $43.6 million the NIH awarded KU in fiscal year 2000.

The $224 million total translates into about 9,000 jobs in the state of Kansas, according to a formula the U.S. Department of Commerce developed. The Commerce Department estimates that every $1 million in university research creates about 40 jobs in Kansas.

"Now more than ever, we see the importance of federally funded research at our public universities," said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. "The fact that KU continues to attract more funding speaks volumes about the quality of our researchers and their projects.

"This high caliber of work not only brings us closer to our goal of being among the top 25 public research universities, it also underlines our role in contributing to the state economy, and it reinforces our dedication to improving the quality of life in Kansas and beyond."

Robert Barnhill, vice chancellor for research and president of the KU Center for Research, said the funding total was just one variable in measuring the school's success. Other components include teaching awards, fellowships, and endowments.

Barnhill said the dramatic increase resulted from an open dialogue on campus that encouraged faculty to pursue "big picture" projects. He also cited KU's recent purchase of the three buildings that formerly housed the Oread laboratories in Lawrence as an example of the university's commitment to providing state-of-the-art facilities. Part of the new laboratory space will be used to support the cancer research funded through the Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence program, a five-year, $10 million grant the NIH awarded in 2000.

"Chancellor Hemenway and many others at KU talk about research," Barnhill said. "It has become an everyday topic of discussion, and a real research-university ambience has been established."

The increase in expenditures will most likely lead to a significant jump in the National Science Foundation's rankings of science research expenditures, he said. In NSF rankings announced in January 2001, KU made the second-largest jump of any university, ranking 53rd among the nation's public universities and 83rd among all universities. Barnhill said he expected KU to witness a similar jump in the rankings, which officials will release soon.

Among the highlights of research efforts:

KU Med Center scientist creates statewide research network
A three-year, $5.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health awarded to Joan Hunt, distinguished professor of anatomy and cell biology at the KU Medical Center, will bring together young researchers from nine Kansas institutions of higher learning. The grant, known as K-BRIN (Kansas Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network), will bring promising undergraduate students across the state to the KU Medical Center to pursue biomedical research in Kansas. Through its campuses in Kansas City, Lawrence and Wichita, KU will collaborate with the five other Kansas regents institutions, as well as Haskell Indian Nations University.

KU mental retardation research center receives $7 million grant
Can brain imaging before birth lead to more precise strategies for improving learning and development or help with the early detection of developmental disorders such as autism? These are just two questions KU researchers will tackle thanks to a five-year, $7 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The grant will support scientists in KU's Kansas Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Center, which connects scientists at the KU Medical Center, the Lawrence campus and KU research sites in Parsons and Kansas City, Kan.

Database aids emergency responders and humanitarian efforts
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, led by a geographer now inæ KU's Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS) Program, created a population database that can help emergency officials respond to acts of bioterrorism, natural disaster, nuclear and chemical accidents, and regional conflicts. The LandScan 2000 population database, supported by a grant from the U.S. Defense Department, uses a geographical information system to create the most detailed illustration of population distribution possible. Among other factors, the database combines the best-available census counts from every country in the world, road networks, elevations and nighttime lights interpreted from satellite images to provide a detailed look at any part of the world in sections even more precise than one kilometer per cell.

Along with notifying officials of the number of people affected by an accident or attack and the number of medical personnel needed to respond, the database is being used for a variety of humanitarian efforts. The database already has proven useful in tracking the migration of refugees and, most recently, helping humanitarian workers determine the best areas to plant seeds in Afghanistan.

Grant focuses on technology for people with mental retardation
A $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will enable researchers at KU's Mental Retardation and Technology Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project to determine how technology can help people with mental retardation and other cognitive disabilities work and live more independently. Through conferences, national surveys and interviews with disability experts, technology developers and people with mental retardation and their families, the project will determine the state of technology for people with mental retardation.

Programs encourage Native American students to pursue sciences
A partnership between KU and Haskell Indian Nations University has received more than $7.3 million in grants -- including more than $6 million from the National Institutes of Health -- to promote collaborative efforts between the two institutions. Projects supported by these grants include bridge programs that encourage Haskell students to gain biomedical research experiences in KU labs, student and faculty exchanges, and programs for Native American students in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing at KU.

Noted writers, actors and scholars celebrate Langston Hughes at KU
This February, KU will take center stage as some of the most prominent African-American writers, actors and scholars converge on the Lawrence campus to celebrate activities related to the centennial celebration of writer Langston Hughes. KU received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a Web site that serves both a national poetry project and the symposium "Langston Hughes: Let America Be America Again." Hughes lived in Lawrence from 1903 to 1915.

Research aims to determine reason behind rising sea levels
An $8.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation and NASA will enable KU researchers to determine why sea levels have been rising for the past century. The researchers will develop and deploy mobile radar sensors in the polar regions to collect and analyze real-time data about interactions between ice sheets, oceans and the atmosphere.

Storing carbon in soil may help curb global warming
Through a $1 million congressional appropriation championed by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., scientists in the KARS program at KU will look into ways to encourage farmers to store carbon in their soil to offset the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

The process, known as carbon sequestration, is accomplished through a variety of methods, including no-till and low-till cultivation, creating composts of small grains, adding hay and legumes to crop rotations, and incorporating trees into farming operations. By adopting these land-use practices, farmers can literally "farm the atmosphere," said Kevin Price, associate director of KARS and associate professor of geography.