The University of Colorado at Boulder received nearly $260 million in sponsored research awards during the 2004 fiscal year -- nearly 80 percent of it from federal agencies -- setting yet another campus record.
NASA and its affiliates -- the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Science Foundation -- were closely grouped as the top three funding agencies, providing more than half the $259,688,721 total for 2004. NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Space Telescope Science Institute accounted for $50.6 million in sponsored research, followed by HHS with $49.5 million and NSF with $48.3 million.
CU-Boulder Chancellor Richard L. Byyny said he was "impressed by the significant accomplishment of our outstanding faculty. Our research programs not only benefit Colorado and the nation with new discoveries and breakthroughs, but they offer unique learning opportunities for thousands of undergraduate and graduate students."
According to Office of Contracts and Grants Director Larry Nelson, the 2004 fiscal expenditures on sponsored research projects at CU-Boulder totaled more than $246 million. More than half of that represents salaries, fringe benefits, stipends and tuition -- including student support -- indicating CU-Boulder contributes significantly to Colorado's economy, he said.
Other federal agencies providing noteworthy totals to CU-Boulder in fiscal 2004 include the commerce department ($25.4 million), the defense department ($13.1 million), the energy department ($6.7 million) and the education department ($4.5 million). In addition, the Department of the Interior provided $2.9 million and the Environmental Protection Agency $1.65 million.
CU-Boulder was awarded $250 million in sponsored research during the 2003 fiscal year. The campus first topped the $200 million mark in 1999.
"The increase in sponsored research dollars to CU-Boulder is impressive given that the competition for such funding has become more intense, and I think it reflects the high quality of our faculty," said Associate Vice-Chancellor for Research Fred Pampel of the Graduate School. "Many of the awards are used to support undergraduate and graduate students, indicating they serve both research and teaching."
CU-Boulder's Graduate School and research institutes received more than $130 million, led by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics with more than $41.3 million. The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences -- a joint program of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- followed closely with $40.3 million.
JILA, a joint program of CU and the National Institute of Standards and Technology headquartered at CU-Boulder, was awarded about $13.8 million, while the Institute for Behavioral Genetics took in more than $11.7 million.
The College of Arts and Sciences, which received $75.9 million in 2004, was led by the molecular, cellular and developmental biology department and the chemistry and biochemistry department, each with $16.2 million. They were followed by the physics and psychology departments, each of which received slightly more than $8 million in sponsored research dollars.
Also in the College of Arts and Sciences, the integrative physiology department received $6.6 million and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, affiliated with the astrophysical and planetary sciences department, was awarded more than $6 million.
The College of Engineering and Applied Science was awarded 420 grants totaling $42.8 million, led by aerospace engineering with $14.6 million. Chemical and biological engineering was awarded $6.1 million, followed by civil, environmental and architectural engineering with nearly $5.7 million.
The CU-Boulder School of Education garnered more than $3.8 million.
In addition to the federal funding in fiscal 2004, private industry awarded nearly $8.4 million to CU-Boulder. The campus also received $8.1 million from the state of Colorado in sponsored research funding.