GRAND FORKS N.D.
University of North Dakota researchers received more than $100 million in grants, contracts and other funding in fiscal 2007, surpassing the school’s goal.
The university’s research money has risen about 40 percent in the past five years, said Gary Johnson, UND’s acting vice president for research.
The growth will raise UND’s national status as a research university and increase future opportunities for faculty and students, he said.
“We’ve learned to become more competitive,” Johnson said. “The research culture is catching hold on this campus, and we have a younger faculty, in particular, who have come here ingrained in research and are being successful in getting significant awards.”
UND President Charles Kupchella credited the increase in research money to a focus on UND’s traditional research strengths, including energy and the environment, engineering, aerospace and biomedical research. He said faculty members also sent out more grant proposals.
UND said its leaders in 2007 grants and contracts were the Energy and Environmental Research Center, which brought in about $37 million; the medical school, which brought in about $17 million; and the aerospace school, at about $11 million.
It might be difficult for UND to grow much beyond the $100 million mark without hiring more faculty, Johnson said.
Information from: Grand Forks Herald, https://www.grandforksherald.com/
– Associated Press
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