The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (2013) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: State Profiles
Appendix B: State Profiles
Pages 93-118
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From page 93... ...
B State Profiles This appendix consists of brief profiles of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) activities in six states: Alaska, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
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:$51376 M Four-year Universities: the University of Alaska System has three branches - Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Southeast First year in the EPSCoR Program: 2000 Alaska became eligible for the National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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-- and 13 satellite campuses. Student population totals 33,000, which is less than the student population of many flagship state universities on the continental United States.
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Like NSF EPSCoR, NIH IDeA engages local populations and community organizations and diligently pursues participatory research, seeking to draw on indigenous knowledge and local practices to enhance understanding of the issues and devise effective solutions to Alaska's wide-ranging health challenges. NIH's Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE)
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From page 98... ...
Alaska has received funds from other EPSCoR programs. An NSF RII Track 2 has funded a joint Alaska-Hawaii project -- the Pacific Area Climate Monitoring and Analysis Network -- to improve the monitoring and modeling of climate change across the Pacific and to explore, for example, how climate change is affecting freshwater resources and how diminished Arctic ice packs may be impacting precipitation patterns across continents.
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funding stood at 0.2 percent. The state has displayed strong, persistent, and enthusiastic support for EPSCoR programs ever since.
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NSF EPSCoR grants currently consist of: A Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 1 award, "Climate Change and Renewable Energy: Basic Science, Impacts and Mitigation." Launched in 2009, the $20 million, 4-year project is a multi institutional, multisectorial initiative involving four universities -- Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, Wichita State University, and Haskell Indian Nation University -- as well as a host of primary and secondary educational institutions and private companies. Researchers skilled in a broad cross-section of disciplines, ranging from agronomy to sociology to physics, have examined the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts of climate change on Kansas, especially on the state's agricultural sector.
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The goal is to build sustainable thematic research centers in these research fields. As with NSF EPSCoR grants, the NIH IDeA program seeks to build upon the state's medical research capabilities in such fields as pharmaceuticals,
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Despite the state's low standing in acquiring federal grant funds when it entered the NSF EPSCoR program, Kansas did have a number of competent research institutions in place. It also enjoyed several areas of research that were recognized for national excellence.
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:$ 37990 M Four-year Universities: there are two major systems - Montana State University – main campus at Bozeman, five branch campuses - and University of Montana – main campus at Missoula, six branch campuses First year in the EPSCoR Program: 1980 Montana, one of the original EPSCoR states, has enjoyed a long and active affiliation with EPSCoR programs. In size, the state is the fourth largest state in the nation.
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The state's research agenda focuses on biomedicine, energy, and the environment. A $20 million, 5-year NSF EPSCoR's RII Track 1 project, launched in 2011, is designed to enhance environmental and ecosystem research throughout the state and to position Montana as a national leader in this broad field of study.
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MT INBRE is a biomedicine research network comprising Montana State University, the University of Montana, six undergraduate universities, and the state's seven tribal colleges. It focuses on such basic medical research issues as the pathogenesis of infectious disease.
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106 THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH System Institute of Ecology, for example, is seeking not only to do excellent research but also to engage and educate the people of Montana in ways that can help them cope and adapt to the ecosystem changes that are taking place. As the strategic plan of Montana EPSCoR states, the goal is to "catalyze scientific cultural change and take Montana to the next level of national competitiveness in ecosystem sciences." A key issue is whether the progress that has been made in improving research capacity and, to a lesser degree, research competitiveness can be sustained, in light of the broad responsibilities in research, education, and public engagement that the institute -- and by extension MT EPSCoR -- currently embraces.
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:$ 79414 M Four-year Universities: The New Mexico state university system includes six campuses First year in the EPSCoR Program: 2001 As New Mexico's Governor Susana Martinez notes in Technology 21: A Science and Technology Roadmap for New Mexico's Future: "New Mexico is a state rich in science and technology assets and capabilities." It has a solid public university system led by the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, and New Mexico Tech. It is a state with large military installations, including Kirtland, Holloman, and Cannon Air Force Bases, and 107
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From page 108... ...
Other NSF EPSCoR grants are designed to complement and advance the goals of the RII Track 1 grant. For example, a $2 million RII Track 2 award, issued in 2010, provides funds for the creation of a Tri-State Western Consortium, composed of New Mexico, Nevada, and Idaho.
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In addition, the NIH IDeA program supports an Institutional Network of Biomedical Research Excellence that includes New Mexico State University (the lead institution) , University of Mexico, New Mexico Tech, the National Center for Genome Resources, Eastern New Mexico State University, San Juan College, New Mexico Highlands University, and Dine College.
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Yet, by virtue of their size and scope, NSF EPSCoR and NIH IDeA programs have dominated the state's involvement with the initiative. New Mexico's NSF and IDeA programs have sought to draw on the state's world-class capabilities and assets in a broad spectrum of fields in science and technology, including computational science, information and communication technologies, nanotechnology, and bioscience.
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:$ 50091 M Four-year Universities: there are several universities, the most prominent of which are private, such as Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design. First year in the EPSCoR Program: 2004 Rhode Island's eligibility to participate in EPSCoR and EPSCoR-like programs (the state first joined NSF EPSCoR in 2004)
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An NSF EPSCoR RII Track 1 award, a 5-year, $20 million grant launched in 2010, supports a network of nine colleges and universities in Rhode Island that is dedicated to strengthening the state's research capabilities and competitiveness in the field of marine life sciences. Specifically, the research seeks to better understand how marine life may be affected by climate change.
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In addition to NSF EPSCoR and NIH IDeA, Rhode Island has pursued funding opportunities presented by other EPSCoR programs. For example, Brown University and the University of Rhode Island have been awarded grants from DOE EPSCoR to explore degradation mechanisms for lithium ion batteries and devise strategies to improve battery energy densities and life cycles.
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Universities in South Carolina have been awarded grants from NSF EPSCoR and NIH IDeA, as well as from EPSCoR programs managed by the USDA, DOD, DOE, EPA, and NASA.
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A 5-year, $20 million NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 1 grant, awarded in 2009, has been a key component of South Carolina's efforts to become an international leader in organ printing. Research focuses on computer-generated biological material designed to create "engineered" functional tissues and organs derived from human cells.
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Other examples of projects receiving support from EPSCoR programs include: An NIH INBRE award, first granted in 2005 and renewed in 2010, to develop a biomedical research network comprising the state's three research and graduate-degree institutions (Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina) and seven predominantly undergraduate institutions (Claflin University, the College of Charleston, Francis Marion University, Furman University, South Carolina State University, University of South Carolina Beaufort, and Winthrop University)
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South Carolina's experience with EPSCoR and IDeA illustrates how federal R&D funding, when aligned with strong state support and academic leadership that carefully identifies and aggressively pursues new and largely unexplored research fields, can help build "niche" scientific capacity and competitiveness that matches -- and sometimes exceeds -- the level of research being conducted at institutions in non-EPSCoR states.
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