Overall, funding for research and educational programs has grown by 20 percent in the past two academic years. In 2001-02, UCI received $212 million in contracts and grants, and in 2000-01, $192 million.
"UCI has a history of research innovation," said William Parker, vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies. "This significant increase in UCI's research funding reflects the quality, energy and excellence of our entire faculty."
The highest percentage of funding was for the life sciences (medicine and biological sciences), where researchers were awarded $154 million -- 65 percent of the total. This year's total also includes a record 27 grants of more than $1 million, supporting diverse programs from undergraduate student research to the development of potential cures for Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury.
The National Institutes of Health, together with other federal agencies, funded all 25 of the largest awards of the last year and 70 percent of the total awards. Other grant and contract funding came from a variety of federal, state, nonprofit and corporate sources. Among major funding recipients:
- Ronald Stern, dean of the School of Physical Sciences, received $5.4 million in initial funding from the National Science Foundation to develop FOCUS, an innovative math and science education program that will serve more than 100,000 Southern California high school students. The funding is part of a five-year, $14.2 million grant -- the largest NSF grant ever received by UCI.
- Dr. Steven G. Potkin, professor of psychiatry, received $4.3 million in NIH funding to establish the Biomedical Informatics Research Network, a nationwide network for sharing vast amounts of computerized brain imaging data about schizophrenia. This project is part of a three-year, federally funded $10.9 million program to speed development of new treatments for this disabling illness.
- Henry Sobel, professor of physics and astronomy, received $3.4 million in Department of Energy funding to study neutrinos and other elementary particles.
- Dr. Frank Meyskens Jr., director of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, received $2.2 million from the NIH to run a clinical trial on anti-cancer drugs.
- Satya Atluri, the Samueli/Von Karman Professor of Aerospace Engineering, received $1.7 million from the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a wireless screening system to improve airport security.
"Contract and grant funding has more than doubled over the past decade, and with the addition and expansion of research centers, such as the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, we expect to see further increases in research opportunities," Parker said.
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