16 ForOregonState.org/Stater N ews OSU SETS RESEARCH RECORD ANOTHER BANNER YEAR FOR AWARDS FUNDS A WIDE ARRAY OF INNOVATIVE PROJECTS. By Oregon Stater Staff Cultivating climate-smart potatoes. Improving underwater vehicles. Maintaining a massive repository of oceanic sediment core samples. Support for these projects, among many others, buoyed Oregon State University’s research awards in the past fiscal year to $480 million — a 32% increase over the previous year and new university record. The total is more than all other Oregon comprehensive public universities’ awards combined, cementing OSU’s reputation as the state’s premier research institution. “The state, region, nation and world look to Oregon State University to advance solutions-based research to address earth-scale problems,” said OSU President Jayathi Murthy. “Research awards recognize the extraordinary efforts of our faculty and staff and the strategic investments being made by our research office to expand OSU’s capacity to meet some of today’s most pressing opportunities and challenges.” The 2023 figure was bolstered by a big jump in funding from U.S. government agencies. Of the total, 89% came from federal organizations, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. (Learn more in “Funding Breakthroughs.”) Among the recipients was a team of researchers investigating the climate impacts of the potato industry in the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded it $50 million — the largest individual award of this fiscal year — to study soil health and develop new practices for potato cropping alongside farmers and Native American tribes. OSU also received $4.6 million from the NSF to continue hosting and to digitize the OSU Marine and Geology Repository. One of the nation’s largest collections of oceanic sediment cores, it documents changes in climate, biology, volcanic activity and more, giving researchers insights into Earth’s history. President Murthy has said her aim is for Oregon State to double its research expenditures — a key barometer used by major universities to measure research productivity.This year’s expenditures reached a university record high of $367 million, a 23% increase over the previous year. It was the 19th time in 21 years that expenditures rose, according to Irem Tumer, OSU’s vice president for research. Research expenditures are strongly indicative of impactful results, Tumer said. Dollars are “invested in laboratories and field work with the goal of advancing knowledge that helps make life better for people through greater health and resilience for communities, economies and the environment.” Oregon State researchers’ efforts have yielded big results. For example, scientists led by Bert and Emelyn Christensen Professor Xiulei Ji developed an electrolyte that raises the efficiency of the zinc metal FUNDING BREAKTHROUGHS Where did OSU’s record-breaking research awards come from, and what parts of the university did they go to? Here’s a breakdown with data from the university’s Research Office. Federal Government Foreign Government Nonprofit Industry Federal Appropriations State and Local Gov. Coll. of Ag. Sciences Coll. of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences Coll. of Forestry Coll. of Engineering Research Centers and Institutions Other $426,668,844 $109,357,181 $117,684,552 $75,647,960 $36,380,899 $25,178,287 $115,750,802 $853, 354 $12,236,329 $12,367,260 $11,005,461 $16,868,433 Award Sources TOTAL: $479,999,681 Award Recipients
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