USM Attracts Almost $1 Billion in Funding for Research in FY 2006
ADELPHI, Md. (May 7, 2007) - In FY 2006, the Â鶹´«Ã½'s
(USM) 13 institutions received almost $1 billion in external funding for
research, system officials have announced. Private, federal, and state grants
and contracts totaled $975.9 million, supporting scientific and medical
research, academic scholarship, and public service projects conducted by the
system's faculty and students.
Although the FY 2006 funding
level dipped just one percent below an all-time high of $983.8 million
in FY
2005, there were significant increases for several of the system's
comprehensive
undergraduate institutions. Bowie State University's total external
research funding grew almost 40
percent to $10 million; Frostburg State University's doubled to $3.4
million; and Towson University's grew from $12.7 million in FY 05 to
$16.4 million
in FY 06.
The system's research-focused
universities and centers-the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB),
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland
Biotechnology Institute (UMBI), University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP),
and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)-accounted
for more than $870 million of the total FY 06 research funding.
"In recent statistics issued
by the American Electronics Association, Maryland was ranked at fifth nationally for its concentration
of hi-tech jobs and sixth for growth in hi-tech jobs," said William E. Kirwan,
USM chancellor. "Maintaining our competitive edge in the world of research grants
and contracts is critical for keeping us on the forefront of the ‘knowledge
economy' and for providing a skilled workforce to fuel our state's
economic engine."
Over the past five years, the
amount of external research funding that USM receives annually has risen 25
percent, from $783.7 million in FY 2001 to $975.9 million in FY 2006.
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
