UM Sets Record for Research Activity
MISSOULA – The Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ has set a new record for research expenditures, exceeding $100 million for the first time in its history.
Research activity at UM has grown substantially in recent years. This fiscal year, UM reported $104.7 million in research expenditures to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey. This is a 16% increase over the previous high of $90.6 million in FY2018 and a 90% increase from FY2014.
“This continued rise in the amount of funded research at UM is a testament to the hard work of our faculty, staff and Ñý¼§Ö±²¥,” said Scott Whittenburg, UM vice president for research and creative scholarship and dean of the Graduate School. “These numbers indicate that UM continues on the path to achieve a Carnegie Research Very-High Activity or R1 ranking. The funding also underscore how research at UM provides an economic engine for the community and state.”
The research funding comes from a broad portfolio of sources, Whittenburg noted, including federal research grants and contracts. For example, $28.1 million came from the National Institutes of Health, $10.5 million from the National Science Foundation, $6.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $2.5 million from NASA, $2.3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense and about $6 million from other agencies.
The broad and diverse set of disciplines spanning life science research at UM accounted for $40 million of the overall amount, including cutting-edge multidisciplinary research in health sciences, biological and biomedical sciences and natural resources and conservation. Other research areas with significant federal funding were mathematical and physical sciences (including psychology) at $6.8 million; geosciences, earth and marine sciences and oceanography with $3 million; social sciences with $2 million; and computer sciences and engineering with $1 million.
“We continue to see our faculty ranked among the top research institutions in the country,” Whittenburg said. “With a record amount of grants and contracts awarded to UM in the past year, these researchers will continue to grow UM’s reputation as a world-class research university with thriving graduate and professional programs.”
###