August 2000

Faculty efforts get credit for setting high water mark in external funding.

Research goals pay off as external funding doubles over two years

In Hollywood, summertime is blockbuster season, the time of year that movie studios generally report their biggest earnings. Summer is also turning into blockbuster season for The University of Mississippi’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, where the end of the fiscal year has come to mean record numbers.

This summer is no different. For the 1999-2000 fiscal year, which ended June 30, external funding for research, education and service projects grew by more than 29 percent, soaring to a record $44,054,401. That figure easily topped last year’s record-setting $34,106,523 and more than doubled the FY 97-98 total of $20,465,347.

The dramatic increase provides further evidence that the University is gaining credibility as a major research institution, says Dr. Ron Borne, interim vice chancellor for research.

“The University has a hard-working, talented and highly competitive faculty,” Borne says. “The achievements this year certainly demonstrate the quality of our researchers. It’s also a credit to Chancellor (Robert) Khayat, who has made research a priority as part of his goal of making Ole Miss one of the nation’s great public universities.”

The awards for FY 99-00 include grants in a broad range of disciplines, from chemistry, physics and pharmacy to business, education and Southern studies.

“The scope of these awards reflects the success we’ve had in establishing centers and programs of research excellence in a wide range of areas,” Borne says. “Many of our faculty have truly international reputations in research excellence.”

Some of the highlights from the past year include:

• A $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for Phase I of renovations to Faser Hall. This phase will include modernization of the building’s fourth floor, occupied mostly by the School of Pharmacy’s medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy departments, and will add 5,000 square feet of office and laboratory space.
• A new five-year contract from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to continue the University’s Marijuana Project. In addition to analyzing the chemical components of marijuana and testing the potency for law enforcement agencies, scientists at the National Center for Natural Products Research will continue to explore the medical possibilities of marijuana and its active chemicals for patients with AIDS, cancer and other ailments.
• A series of contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense for projects at the Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics, including work on a system to detect land mines using sound waves, a method of detecting illegal nuclear testing by “hearing” the explosions over vast distances and ways of improving the performance and accuracy of high-speed missiles.
• Awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture of nearly $2.5 million to fund food safety and child nutrition programs conducted by the National Food Service Management Institute.
• A $1.9 million grant to the School of Business Administration from the Office of Naval Research to find ways to make personnel planning more effective throughout the military. The University was named the lead research unit in a three-university consortium that includes the University of Memphis and Kansas State University.
• Establishment of the University of Mississippi Geoinformatics Center, using a $1.8 million federal appropriation. The center will combine resources from the geology, biology, computer science and sociology departments for projects ranging from environmental concerns to business issues using satellite technology.
• A $225,000 grant from NASA for a remote sensing project in collaboration with Jackson State University. The goal is to learn whether satellite data can be used with current weather models to improve rain and flooding forecasts.
• A $2.4 million contract funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the city of Oxford for a high-tech study of the local transportation network. This marks the first time the DOT’s Intelligent Transportation System has been used to study a rural area, and the results may be applied to small towns across the country.
• A $50,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant for the Center for the Study of Southern Culture that could lead to the center being designated as one of 10 national centers devoted to the study of regional culture. If chosen, the center would be eligible for a $5 million implementation grant that would be matched 3-to-1 with money from other sources for a total funding of $20 million over seven years.

Several developments are on the way that will enhance the University’s research capabilities and reputation. They include the completion of the $6.5-million Center for Water and Wetland Resources at the University Field Station, set for a Sept. 1 dedication, and the launch of UM Quest, a new annual publication that spotlights many of the innovative research projects being conducted by University researchers. Also, construction is in the final stages on the National Food Service Management Institute, which should be completed early next year.

“We anticipate that the momentum generated by our recent research initiatives will result in even more dramatic increases in external funding in the future,” Borne says.

contributed by Mitchell Diggs

External Grants and Contracts/Awards 2000-2001

Awards Received

29.2% increase over total dollars awarded FY 98-99; 115.3% increase over total dollars awarded FY97-98; 121% increase over total dollars awarded FY 96-97

Proposals Submitted

35% increase over dollars requested FY 98-99; 55% increase over dollars requested FY 97-98;121% increase over dollars requested FY 96-97