South Dakota School of Mines and Technology researchers have been awarded nearly $21 million in research and development funding during Fiscal Year 2009, the highest amount in the history of the university and more than double the $10.1 million received in Fiscal Year 2008.
During the 2009 fiscal year, researchers received 92 awards averaging approximately $227,000 from federal and state agencies, corporations, and direct Congressional appropriations. The awards represent 23 departments, centers, or labs and have been awarded to 42 principal investigators. More than half of all proposals submitted were funded. The National Science Foundation's average funding rate was 25 percent in 2008. Individual awards ranged from $2,000 for the collection of fossil vertebrates to $3,392,600 to study advanced materials and processes for future combat systems.
"Our focus is to expand the size and scope of our research enterprise and strengthen our status as one of the nation's premier science and engineering universities. This growth is impressive and shows that we are well on our way to realizing these goals," School of Mines President Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D., said. "This milestone is a clear indication of the stellar level of faculty and researchers on our campus."
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 Fiscal Year 2004, the School of Mines was awarded $11.9 million. Five years later, with funding at nearly $21 million, this impressive growth makes $25 million a goal well within reach.
A key funding piece in reaching this historic marker was the more than $3.5 million awarded 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, South Dakota, at the site of the former Homestake Gold Mine. The DUSEL project goes before the National Science Advisory Board in August, and the technical evaluation and design work being conducted through the School of Mines will determine the type and character of the rock underground and where the best locations will be for the placement of the surface and underground lab facilities. These facilities will contain multiple experimental lab suites and at least one large cavity big enough to house the Statue of Liberty - and its base! - all located nearly a mile below the surface of the Earth. The university is proud to be a leading partner with the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the DUSEL project.
The State of South Dakota awarded $86,613 to create the newest 2010 Research Center, the Repair, Refurbish and Return to Service Applied Research Center. As troops return to the United States, they bring with them all of the equipment used during the past several years. This grant creates a center to develop new repair and refurbishment techniques for this equipment using the latest technologies including friction stir welding and cold spray deposition.
Since 2001, the university has received approximately $80 million in Congressional appropriations for research and development including $3.2 million in the 2009 Defense spending bill.
"I am proud to have the campus engaged in research that advances scientific knowledge and also has real-life applications that are relevant to national defense. These awards generate economic development opportunities and impact for our region, South Dakota and our nation," Wharton said. "U.S. Senators Tim Johnson and John Thune, and Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin continue to champion applied research initiatives that support the security of our nation and the safety of our soldiers."
