South Dakota School of Mines and Technology researchers and professors have been awarded a record amount of research and development funding during Fiscal Year 2009. As of May 14, 2009, the School of Mines has been awarded nearly $17.3 million in grants and research awards, the highest amount in the history of the university.
To date, 72 awards have been made with awards averaging approximately $240,000. The awards represent 23 departments, centers or labs and have been awarded to 40 principal investigators. More than half of all proposals submitted were funded. The National Science Foundation's average funding rate ranges from 21-24 percent. Individual awards ranged from $3,000 to study the removal of arsenic from drinking water using limestone-based materials to $3,392,600 to study advanced materials and processes for future combat systems.
"This is a clear indication of the stellar level of faculty and researchers on our campus. This kind of growth is key in our mission to expand the size and scope of our dynamic research enterprise and strengthen our status as one of the nation's premier science and engineering universities," School of Mines President Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D., said. "The research done at the School of Mines advances scientific knowledge and also has real-life applications. These awards generate economic development opportunities and impact for our region, our state and our nation."
Wharton has identified growing the research enterprise as one of four strategic key focus areas that will guide the university, with the specific goal of reaching $25 million within five years. In FY04, the School of Mines was awarded $11.9 million. Five years later, with funding at nearly $17.3 million, this impressive growth makes $25 million a goal within reach.
A key funding piece in reaching this historic milestone was a recent $2.3 million award from the National Science Foundation for the site selection and technical design development of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL), located in Lead, S.D. The School of Mines is proud to be a leading partner with the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the DUSEL project.
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