Research Funding Reaches Record $458.1 Million

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The University of Florida received a record $458.1 million in research funding during fiscal year 2002-03, due in large part to a $26 million increase in funding to its Health Science Center.

The 4.8 percent increase is a $20.9 million more than in fiscal year 2001-02. Research funding to UF has increased 131 percent over the last decade.

“UF faculty created numerous new initiatives in such areas as nanoscience, regenerative health, astronomy and agriculture,” said Win Phillips, UF’s vice president for research. “They continue to be highly competitive and to pursue new interdisciplinary opportunities.”

UF gets about 63 percent of its funding from the federal government — a total of $289.3 million last year, up 8 percent from the previous year. After several years of dramatic increases, the National Institutes of Health, UF’s largest source of research funding, remained steady at $104.4 million in fiscal year 2001-02

Most of the NIH funding goes to the six colleges of UF's Health Science Center, which accounted for about 55 percent of the university's total with a record $251 million, up 11.4 percent from the 2001-02 total of $225 million.

Funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) increased almost 4 percent to $40.7 million. NSF funding supports research in basic sciences, such as physics and chemistry, engineering and social sciences, including sociology and psychology. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences benefits from much of the NSF funding, helping it bring in a record $44.3 million in 2002-03, up 16.3 percent over the previous year.

The College of Engineering received $60.9 million and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences $65.3 million.

UF received $54.4 million from industry sponsors in 2002-03 and another $51 million from foundations, both increases over the previous year.