In the $787 billion stimulus package signed by President Obama, $11.1 billion is set aside for nationwide research, and UNM faculty are aiming to get a cut of that.
Julia Fulghum, vice president for Research and Economic Development, is working to help professors submit proposals to get research funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Fulghum said in an e-mail Tuesday that getting information to the appropriate UNM research departments is of the utmost importance.
"The stimulus funding will have a dramatic impact on research, with the National Science Foundation receiving an additional $3 billion and the National Institutes of Health receiving an additional $8.1 billion," Fulghum said.ˇ"We need to make sure that we are positioned to take advantage of what is an unprecedented increase in the availability of research funding."
But the funds might not be available for all researchers.
Dr. Bruce Huckell, senior research coordinator for the Maxwell Center for Anthropological Research, said his department probably wouldn't fit within the guidelines and stipulations that come with the money.
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"It's my understanding that anthropological, archaeological research is not one of the things that is high priority within that stimulus funding," Huckell said. "It's going to be things that are going to have a greater potential for national-level impacts and societal benefits. So, I think the hard sciences - things that will potentially contribute to economic recovery - are what they're really going after, and archaeology may be fun, but it's not going to provide those kinds of instant benefits."
Fulghum said researchers who do not think that their proposals fit within the guidelines should contact her office and consider re-wording their proposals.
"Given that the purpose of the bill is to stimulate the economy, many proposals are requiring information regarding economic impact, such as, 'How does this proposal create jobs or add capacity to the economy?'" Fulghum said.ˇ"We are assisting faculty in creating language that can be used to best answer what are expected to be common selection criteria."
Fulghum said the $11.1 billion could cover proposals that have previously been rejected.
"What this means for UNM faculty and staff is, while NSF is not likely to have a drastic increase in the number of solicitations for new proposals, proposals that have already been submitted have a greater likelihood of being funded, and, in addition, proposals that were turned down due to lack of funds are now being reconsidered," she said.
Richard S. Larson, senior associate dean for research at the UNM Health Sciences Center, said the $11.1 billion is not a gift of excess grants but a financial package that all of the state's research institutions will have to compete for.
"At the Health Sciences Center, we already have over $100 million in applications that we have either sent in or are planning to send in between now and September to try to get funds," Larson said. "Now, we have to compete for
(funding), so we don't know how much we're going to get."
Larson said some of the proposals are for renovation of research buildings at the Health Sciences Center and that others are to fund the research and train doctors.
Fulghum said that the funds will sponsor a unique opportunity for UNM professors and that her office will do everything in its power to help them take advantage of the opportunity to secure funding for their research.
"The importance of the stimulus package is to save and create jobs and to expand research and educational opportunities," Fulghum said.ˇ"We realize the importance of providing the UNM community with up-to-date information as it becomes available and with prompt assistance in taking advantage of the funding opportunities the stimulus provides."
Fulghum said her office launched the Web site Research.unm.edu/stimulus, which provides the latest information on agency guidelines and funding opportunities. Faculty members interested in receiving up-to-the-minute alerts about funding opportunities can join the listserv Stimulus-info-l@unm.edu, she said.
Fulghum said her office will hold weekly "stimulus update" meetings on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development conference room.
Visit Research.unm.edu/stimulus for more information.
