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Nov 03, 2009

UCLA researchers bring in $4M a day in research contracts, grants

UCLA researchers have had spectacular success over the last four months in getting their research proposals funded, bringing in an average of $4 million each day.
 
If the current pace continues, they may break their 2008-09 all-time record for the total number of dollars awarded for contracts and grants. Stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) explain only part of the reason for their tremendous success over the last four months.
 
DesphandeKimWong
Dr. David Wong, (right) associate dean for research at the School of Dentistry, talks with Dr. Amit Deshpande, an assistant researcher, while Dr. Yong Kim, adjunct assistant professor of oral biology, works in the background. Wong will become the director of the new Yip Center for Oral/Head & Neck Oncology Research, which will be built with $5.1 million in ARRA funding from the NIH's National Center for Research Resources.
"We've been seeing really fantastic results," said Vice Chancellor for Research Roberto Peccei. Between July and October, funding agencies gave out a total of $511 million for UCLA research projects. Of that amount, about $88 million during those four months consisted of ARRA funds. "I'm not only happy about the amount of ARRA money we've received, but we have done spectacularly in getting non-ARRA funding as well."
 
Asked why the research community is doing so well, Peccei explained, "People have been submitting a lot of proposals. That they have been getting funded says something about the strength and breadth of our research program. Hopefully, this trend will continue. If it does, we will be looking at another record year. It's pretty amazing."
 
The total amount of ARRA dollars awarded to UCLA researchers has now surpassed the $100 million mark. So far, 268 awards have been made for a total of $109 million in stimulus money. To date, 119.6 fulltime-equivalent positions have been reported as created or retained as a result, primarily funding postdoctoral scholars, research associates and those in support roles.
 
Although the surge in research funding is the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal funding year, the hundreds of millions of dollars in awards given by government agencies to fund specific research activities will do nothing to help close the more than $150 million budget gap UCLA faces this fiscal year. The loss of state funding is especially critical because it goes toward such basic campus operations as facilities and maintenance, police services, and staff and faculty salaries.
 
"At a time when the campus needs funds, this has given us an amazing opportunity to bring funding in — even though it's strictly for research and cannot be used for general support," said Marcia Smith, associate vice chancellor for research administration. The effort to generate nearly 1,400 proposals for available ARRA funds was one that required campuswide coordination and energy, led by the Office of Contracts and Grants, but carried through by administrators in many departments.
 
So far, the top ARRA awards at UCLA have gone to:
  • UCLA Engineering's new Center for Domain-Specific Computing, which received $10 million from the National Science Foundation to develop high-performance, energy-efficient, customizable computing. Leading the effort as director is Jason Cong, the Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science.
  • The School of Dentistry, which received more than $5.1 million to build the UCLA YIP Center for Oral/Head and Neck Oncology Research. The new 6,660-square-foot facility, to be built in the dental school, will consolidate and expand research in the biology, detection and treatment of oral cancer. Dean No-Hee Park is principal investigator of the construction grant.
  • The Clean Energy for Green Industry Fellowship, under Associate Professor Diana Huffaker of Electrical Engineering, which received $3 million in stimulus funds through the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship program. Over the course of five years, the program will train 33 Ph.D. students in the science, business and policies of clean technology.
  •  The Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, which received a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. With this money, a new professional development program will be set up for computer science teachers in Los Angeles high schools. Senior education researcher Jane Margolis is principal investigator for the grant.  
  • The Department of Mathematics was awarded two $2.5 million Research Training Groups grants from the National Science Foundation, one in algebra/number theory and the other in analysis. The grants are part of the NSF initiative to enhance the mathematical science workforce of the 21st century and will fund numerous departmental programs, as well as provide support for graduate students, undergraduates and postdoctoral students. Professors Dimitri Schlyakhtenko and William Duke are in the lead.
 
A top-10 ranking of departments, by the total amount of funding awarded, shows Computer Science at the top with $10.5 million, followed by the Semel Neuropsychiatric Hospital with $10.4 million, Electrical Engineering with $8.3 million; Dentistry with $5.8 million, Mathematics with $5.3 million; Education with $3.6 million; Neurology with $3.5 million, Psychology with $3.4 million, Physics and Astronomy with $3.3 million, and Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics with $2.8 million.
 
To learn more about ARRA funding at UCLA, see this website.