Research Funding Reaches All-Time High Both the College of Engineering and UNL received record amounts of external research funding during the fiscal year ending June 30.

UNL's top five units in research funding are the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Agriculture Research Division, $38.3 million; College of Arts and Sciences, $27.2 million; College of Engineering, $23.4 million; Vice Chancellor for Research, $6.9 million; and the College of Education and Human Sciences, $6.1 million. Source: Institutional Research and Planning

UNL received $104.6 million, more than half of which came from federal sources. The college received $23.4 million, comprising 22.4 percent of the university's total.

"We are extremely pleased and happy with how well the college has done. The faculty needs to be congratulated on a job well done," Associate Dean of Research Namas Chandra said.

But the college can–and will–do more, said Chandra, whose goal is to double the college's research funding within five years.

To do this, the Dean's Office is being proactive in encouraging new faculty to apply for grants, he said. This includes helping them identify grant sources, visiting with potential sponsors and inviting them to campus, and assisting faculty with preparing their proposals.

The college also is encouraging more established faculty to form research teams with other departments at UNL and other universities, Chandra said.

Five years ago, UNL set a goal to obtain $100 million annually for research. Vice Chancellor for Research Prem Paul said meeting that goal was a milestone in UNL's efforts to build its stature nationally and enhance research to better serve Nebraska.

UNL's research funding has increased 113 percent since 2000. Funding has more than tripled since 1996.

Examples of major grants wholly or partially awarded to engineering researchers in the last fiscal year are:

• $9.9 million from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a bioengineering partnership to develop a hemophilia therapy;
• $7.4 million from the United States Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency to devise Web-based drought management tools for farmers and ranchers; and
• $1.2 million from the National Science Foundation for a middle school math and science educational initiative using small robots as teaching tools –Ashley Washburn, with material from the Office of University Communications