The computer shown above is part of the equipment that will be sent to Greenland as part of a five-year study of the melting of polar ice caps. Kansas University researcher will be a part of the study.

In February, Kansas University officials announced that 2004 had been a record year for research.

KU researchers, they said, completed $274 million in research – a 6.2 percent increase over the previous year.

This year, too, may set a record.

In April, the National Science Foundation presented KU with a five-year, $19 million grant to study the melting of the polar ice caps.

“The grant was the largest single federal grant in KU history,” said Kevin Boatright, a KU Center for Research spokesman.

And in June, the National Institutes of Health entered a $7.9 million contract with KU for the development of an oral contraceptive for men.

Already, research activity at KU has more than doubled since 1997.

“Things are going really well,” said Jim Roberts, vice provost for research. “We’re pleased with how things are right now.”

Universities typically measure research expenditures rather than grants awarded because it gives a more accurate picture for research activity for a given year.

Federal push

KU’s research figures for 2004 were driven by a 14 percent increase in federally funded research, to $135.7 million. That includes $102 million in federal science and engineering research – an increase of 9.7 percent – and $53.2 million in training and other research, an increase of 24.4 percent.

Federal funding is typically what drives national rankings such as those conducted by U.S. News & World Report. KU last year was 45th among public universities; 29th in life sciences research.

“Our federal numbers are really strong,” Roberts said. “I’m really tickled.”

While federal grants drove an overall increase, four other areas of KU research declined:

¢ State grants dropped 2.8 percent to $7.9 million.

¢ Nonprofit foundation research funding dropped 3.4 percent to $13.7 million.

¢ Funding from industry dipped 19.7 percent to $5.3 million.Roberts attributed the declines to the stagnant state budget.

“I think the easy answer there is the economy,” Roberts said. “We used to have significant funding from Sprint, for example, but that’s pretty much dried up.”

Also, university dollars spent on research decreased 1.6 percent to $91.8 million. Roberts attributed that decline, in part, to the state budget and less matching money required on federal grants.

Science, math push

The largest areas of increase came in the disciplines of pharmacy, medicine, education, natural sciences and mathematics.

Among campus research centers, the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies saw the largest increase, with $6.1 million more in research in 2004 than in 2003.

Roberts said new research awards were up 16 percent last fiscal year, which should mean continued increases in research expenditures. New awards last year started the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysts, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and will develop environmentally friendly chemical processes for industry, and the Health Chemical Methodologies and Library Development Center of Excellence, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health and will assemble libraries of molecules that scientists can use to develop new drugs.

New construction

Roberts said the completion of the $40 million research facility – tentatively called the Multidisciplinary Research Building or MRB – now under construction on west campus will help lure additional federal funds.

Also construction at KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., is spurring research growth, said Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor.

Much of the construction is funded by $57 million in bonds approved by the 2003 Kansas Legislature.

Atkinson said having the Lawrence and Medical Center campuses working together, especially on drug development, would be important for future research success.

“It’s exciting what’s happened with this level of growth we’re seeing,” she said.