Purdue sets record again with $403 million in research funding

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University achieved a record in fiscal year 2016 with $403 million in external research funding.

The total includes funding from federal agencies, industry, foundations and nonprofit organizations received during the fiscal year completed on June 30 and is the highest amount the university has achieved when American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are excluded from award totals.

The 2016 funding tops last year’s $401 million, which included a $40 million gift from Lilly Endowment Inc.

“I am particularly encouraged that this rising tide of research awards was made possible by successes of diverse disciplines across campus ranging from manufacturing to engineering education to computer science to plant science and the life sciences,” said Suresh Garimella, Purdue’s executive vice president for research and partnerships and the Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “As a result, I am confident we are looking at a sustainable trend. The scholarship of our faculty and staff and their commitment to successfully compete for funding is clearly what moves Purdue forward with world-changing research that impacts the lives of our citizens.”

Increased research funding for Purdue also benefits the community and state, he said.

“A typical expectation is that every $1 million in research funding supports seven full-time positions,” Garimella said. “Support of academic research also leads to a greater opportunity for spinoff companies and for products, like a potential new drug, to be pursued by existing companies, which provide additional employment opportunities and economic benefits.”

Significant funding received in fiscal year 2016 includes:

* $19 million from the Department of Energy and the University of Tennessee for the Indiana Manufacturing Institute, which is part of a $259 million Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation national initiative.

* $7.5 million of a $23 million award over the next five years from the National Science Foundation to support Purdue’s Center for Science of Information.

* $6.5 million from the Department of Energy for a project to develop superior strains of sorghum for biofuel.

* $4 million from the National Science Foundation for a study of engineering students' pathways and related institutional policies.

* $3 million of a $5.4 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for a project to develop an implantable nerve-stimulating “bionode” to treat inflammation.

* $2 million of an $8.8 million award from the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of dietary recommendations and sodium reduction on blood pressure in adolescents.

Purdue on Thursday also announced record totals for annual giving and patents and startups. 

For more on research at Purdue, visit www.purdue.edu/research/. 

Writer: Elizabeth K. Gardner, 765-494-2081, ekgardner@purdue.edu 

Source: Suresh Garimella, 765-494-6209, sureshg@purdue.edu