University of Wisconsin research programs could be the recipients of up to $150 million in federal stimulus money if all goes well in applying for several hundred grants this spring.
“This is over and above the normal channels (of funding),” said UW Associate Dean for Research Policy Bill Mellon.
While Mellon said it is impossible to know how much the university will receive, he said historical trends indicate the university will receive between $140 and $150 million in grants.
Along with individual proposals made by researchers, the university is also applying for stimulus money through several large packages to institutions offering the grants, including the National Institutes of Health which has earmarked funding for biomedical research facilities.
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NIH received $10.4 billion in funding. NIH will distribute the money to projects across the United States.
According to its site, the funds are expected to be spent quickly and should target job creation and other areas that will aid the economy.
The total amount being applied for by UW researchers is unknown according to Mellon, as even today a package of 300 to 350 grants is being submitted.
Mellon said grants from NIH would cover areas such as instrumentation and physical facilities.
“There’s a wide range of biomedical areas faculty would be applying to receive grants for,” Mellon said.
Mellon said funding could also come from the National Science Foundation, though they are not accepting applications this spring.
“The National Science Foundation is going to take most of their stimulus money and apply it to awards that have already or grants that have already been reviewed either last fall or this winter,” Mellon said.
He said NSF had enough quality submissions in the last cycle that they are simply going back and re-ranking submissions. Mellon said he was unsure how many faculty members could potentially benefit from funding from reconsidered proposals to NSF.
Mellon said funding from many channels has dwindled in recent years. The stimulus money offers a very welcome increase in funding available to scientific researchers, as many have been forced to cut areas of funding.
The stimulus money received will come in addition to the normal annual $800 or $900 million UW usually receives in the form of grants.
While Wisconsin is slated to get about $3.5 billion in stimulus funds from the federal government, the UW System is facing budget cuts as a result of the state’s budget shortfall.
Grant-issuing bodies within UW itself have also been forced to cut funding as the ailing economy continues to shrink endowments available for distribution.
Earlier this year, an endowment within the School of Medicine and Public Health and the UW Foundation announced they would be cutting funding for projects after seeing a marked decline in their value in 2008.
