Oregon State University Reports Record $480M in Research Awards

• Federal government organizations provided 89% of the awards.
• University research expenditures increased for the 19th time in 21 years.
• The university listed research wins from 11 of its colleges.

Oregon State University (OSU) announced earlier this month that it has set a school record for research funding.

The Corvallis, Oregon, university with more than 35,000 students says it took in a record $480 million in research awards from companies, nonprofits, and federal, state, local, and foreign governments during the last fiscal year. Federal organizations, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health, provided 89% of the awards.

OSU's research expenditures, used to measure productivity, also increased 23% year to year. It was the 19th time expenditures rose in 21 years. According to Irem Tumer, vice president for research, expenditures are monetary investments in labs and fieldwork to advance knowledge and quality of life.

"The state, region, nation and world look to Oregon State University to advance solutions-based research to address earth-scale problems," OSU President Jayathi Murthy said in a press release.

"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."

Some of OSU's research projects include:

• A $50 million U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded project to partner with the University of Idaho, Washington State University, and Native American tribes to enhance potato soil health and reduce the industry's carbon footprint
• A $5.3 million U.S. Office of Naval Research project that enhances underwater vehicle intelligence and functionality for construction, marine exploration, and ship maintenance
• A $4 million NSF program named Polar STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to engage middle and high school educators, artists, and writers to increase awareness of the scientific work done in the Arctic and Antarctic
• A $4.8 million project funded by the NSF to increase cybersecurity majors to address the national shortage

OSU listed research wins from 11 colleges within the university, including pharmacy, business, engineering, and forestry.

Through a long-term NSF project, the university launched three oceanographic research vessels to study human impacts on the ocean and separately discovered that gravitational waves permeate the universe at low frequencies.

OSU also completed design development on a $213 million complex to house one of the nation's most powerful supercomputers and increase research in artificial intelligence, materials science, and robotics to solve global sustainability issues.