Posted on: Friday, June 21, 2002
Support for UH research jumps to record $252M
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
Annual research grants and contracts awarded to the University of Hawai'i have topped a quarter of a billion dollars for the first time, according to Edward Laws, UH interim vice chancellor for research and graduate studies.
As the fiscal year ended June 13, the total reached $252 million — the highest ever — compared with $205 million a year ago, said Laws, who prepared a report for the Board of Regents today.
"We've been on a trajectory to hit that figure for most of the year," he said. "It's a big jump."
Grants and awards for fiscal 1999-2000 amounted to $180 million, and the year before that $165 million.
The dramatic increase is primarily due to large research contracts brought in by the John A. Burns School of Medicine and its dean, Edwin Cadman, and UH's new contract to run the Maui Supercomputer, which generates about $10 million in federal funding each year.
While UH President Evan Dobelle has created an atmosphere that encourages going after these big awards, said Laws, the specific grants have been written by individuals.
"Ed Cadman has been going out and hiring some high-powered researchers," said Laws. "These are people who bring in a million dollars a year." New medical school grants alone involved around $17 million, he said.
Meanwhile, David Lassner's aggressive pursuit and capture of the Maui Supercomputer contract has meant an additional $13.4 million. Lassner is the university's director of Information Technology Services.
"The total contract is expected to be up to 10 years and up to $181 million," said Lassner, who began preparations to apply for it as far back as 1999 when the previous contract was getting ready to expire.
"We started submitting documentation to the Air Force in 2000."
When UH took over the Maui High Performance Computing Center contract about 20 people were added to the staff, said Lassner. Funding comes through the Air Force Research Lab. The Maui center is one of the five largest in the Department of Defense.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
