Inside Iowa State

July 22, 2005

External support soars to $287 million in FY2005

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University generated $287 million in grants, contracts and cooperative agreements during fiscal year 2005, the seventh consecutive record high. That's an increase of about 5 percent compared with the previous year's total of $274 million.

The $287 million includes all contracts and grants that Iowa State received directly from federal, state and local government units, corporations and foundations. This funding is used for research, public service/extension activities, educational projects, student financial aid, buildings and equipment.

"This impressive result for the past year reflects the excellence and capabilities of Iowa State's faculty and staff. To continue, year after year, setting records in attracting external financial support to the university is remarkable," said President Gregory Geoffroy. "These funds enhance our academic programs, and they help create opportunities for economic growth in Iowa."

Funding for research totaled $180 million, a 10 percent increase compared with the preceding year and another record amount.

"Iowa State is fortunate to have such a resourceful, excellent faculty," said Jim Bloedel, vice provost for research. "They have been able to continue to grow their external support at a rate that far exceeds the budgetary increases of the federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture from which they receive the majority of their funding."

Total support from federal agencies increased by nearly 8 percent to $181.8 million. The largest contributors of federal funding to Iowa State included USDA ($45.7 million); the Department of Energy, primarily to the Ames Laboratory ($36.2 million); the Department of Health and Human Services ($23.9 million); the National Science Foundation ($27.0 million), the Department of Education ($17.0 million), the Department of Transportation ($9.6 million) and the Department of Defense ($7.6 million).

Support from non-federal sources remained steady at $105 million. The largest contributors of non-federal funding were foundations and associations ($34.1 million, which included $17 million for construction of new buildings); state, county and city government agencies ($30.3 million); businesses and corporations ($28.5 million); and other universities and colleges through joint projects ($9.6 million).

Following are examples of research funded at Iowa State in fiscal year 2005.

• Bruce Thompson, Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering and director of the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) and Lisa Brasche, CNDE scientist, received $1,911,000 from the U.S. Department of the Air Force for a three-year project to develop inspection methods for aging military aircraft.
• D. Lee Alekel, associate professor in food science and human nutrition, received $496,157 from the National Institutes of Health for a project, to examine the effectiveness of isoflavones, estrogen-like compounds derived from soybeans, in preventing bone loss associated with menopause.
• Robert Anex, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, received $1.9 million from the National Science Foundation for a four-year project to assess the potential impacts of a large-scale transition to the use of biomass-derived feedstock for the production of energy, fuels and products.
• Patrick Schnable, professor of agronomy, received $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation for a project to genetically map 4,500 maize genes using a new high-throughput mapping technology developed at ISU.

To continue, year after year, setting records in attracting external financial support to the university is remarkable."

President Gregory Geoffroy