By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Research funding at the University at Buffalo has hit record high levels and continues to climb.
Nearly $240 million in research funding flowed into UB during the 2002 fiscal, a 28 percent increase from the previous year.
Vice President for UB Research, Jaylan Turkkan, says more importantly, there was a 33 percent increase in federal research dollars. Federal funds jumped from more than $96 million to $128 million.
"The federal amount is particularly important because federal awards are the most scrutinized and peer reviewed grant proposals that are awarded throughout the United States," Turkkan explained. "And for UB to receive a 33 percent really suggests that we are doing some thing right."
Turkkan attributes the increase in federal funds to savvy faculty members and better proposals. And she says research funding is gaining even more momentum.
"We are actually tracking the numbers even since these data were released," Turkkan continued. "It looks like we are still roaring ahead into the next year, beyond the numbers you are reporting today."
More research dollars brings prestige and national attention to the university. Turkkan says it also attracts top rated faculty from around the globe, as well as top ranked students.
The largest increase was awarded to the Medical School from the US Department of Health and Human Services for life sciences.
Turkkan says the school of engineering has had an "enormous" increase in funding for earthquake and volcano research, while the chemistry department gained more than $10 million in research funds.