By Eileen Conrad

At UCSB, research support from external sources—federal and state agencies, corporations, and foundations—reached $159 million in the 2005-06 fiscal year, an increase of $6 million over previous year.

Funding in the form of contracts and grants for research, training, and public service programs is considered the lifeblood of a premier research university. Over the past 10 years, UCSB’s annual external research funding has more than doubled.

“This significant growth in research funding is a testament to the excellence and originality of research and creative activity at UC Santa Barbara,” said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. “I am proud of the contributions made by our faculty, researchers, staff, and students as together we explore the frontiers of knowledge, turn dreams into discovery, and cultivate human talent for the benefit of society and the world we live in.”

In the fiscal year ending June 30, support from federal agencies amounted to $112 million, or 70 percent of UCSB’s total research funding. The National Science Foundation (NSF) was the largest single source, as it has been for more than a decade. The second largest funding source for UCSB research was the Department of Defense (DOD), followed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Michael Witherell, vice chancellor for research, said, “The breadth of outstanding research at UCSB is truly remarkable.”

UCSB ranked 18th among research universities in total NSF support received during the 2005 federal fiscal year (the most recent year for which the NSF provides such statistics), a remarkably strong position for the campus, given the size of its faculty, Witherell noted.

Similarly, UCSB ranked among the top 20 universities in five of the seven NSF directorates: biological sciences, computer and information sciences and engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. In addition, UCSB ranked 15th among universities in research funding from the DOD for fiscal year 2005.

Witherell stressed that research funding is not the most accurate measure of UCSB research, since fields that receive the greatest amount of federal funding dominate it. “UCSB research also has great impact in fields for which the national funding is much less, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, and education,” he said. “The vitality of UCSB research in these areas is not reflected in tables of research funding.”

Private support for UCSB research at the end of June also accounted for $20.4 million, and support from industry totaled $8.8 million. The UC system provided $13.7 million, and the State of California and local government added $3.7 million.

Among major research grants awarded to the campus last year:

• The Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation of Tokyo extended their successful research and education alliance for four more years. Under the new agreement, the firm will invest between $8.5 million and $10 million. The funds will support research and administration of the Mitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced Materials, a highly productive research unit established in 2001 with the support of Japan’s largest chemical company. Center researchers are involved in creating new materials, devices, and advanced fabrication technologies for the specialty chemical and electronic materials marketplace.

• A five-year, $5-million grant from the National Science Foundation established a new National Science and Engineering Center to study the societal implications of nanotechnology. The Center for Nanotechnology and Society, one of only two such NSF-funded centers in the country, is an international collaborative enterprise.

• The UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCSB, UC Berkley, and Stanford University launched what will be one of the world’s largest joint research programs—the Western Institute of Nanoelectronics—to pioneer a blend of physics and technology called “spintronics.” With its headquarters at UCLA, the institute was established with primary funding by industry sponsors and a $3.84 million UC Discovery matching grant.