Boise State University received $23.8 million for externally funded research and sponsored projects for the fiscal year that ended June 30 — the second highest total in the university’s history.

The awards include grants from the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Department of Education and a number of other state and federal agencies, as well as from businesses and private foundations.

Cancer studies, wind energy research, watershed investigations and bird migration surveys are just a few of the many research projects funded in fiscal year 2006. In addition, programs to enhance drug-free workplaces for youth, offer professional development workshops for educators an d provide registered nurse services to in-home cases were among funded projects.

Boise State’s fiscal year 2006 total follows a general trajectory of increases in external funding over the past 20 years. Slight dips occur some years in part because of variability in exactly when funds for multi-year projects are released. This year’s $23.8 million total is more than double that received in fiscal year 1999, when Boise State received $10.9 million for external awards, and nearly 10 times the $2.4 million received in fiscal 1985.

"Boise State researchers are pursuing funded projects that bring many benefits to our students, our state and our region," said Jack Pelton, interim vice president for research. "By conducting hands-on research, students have opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom. The research serves as a catalyst for economic development and also helps train a workforce for the high-tech jobs of the future."

During fiscal year 2006, Boise State also recorded a 9.4 percent increase in total annual expenditures for externally funded projects. The university spent $23.6 million during the past fiscal year, compared to $21.6 million in fiscal year 2005. Tracking annual award expenditures, rather than annual awards received, often provides a smoother and more reliable method for looking at trends, Pelton added, because it minimizes the impact of multi-year awards and year-end funding schedules.

The largest amount awarded from a single source was $3.17 million from the EPA to develop and test multi-purpose sensors to detect and analyze contaminants, and to develop hydrogeophysical imaging technologies that aid the mapping of contaminant movement in the subsurface. The EPA grants are led by civil engineering professor Molly Gribb and geosciences research professor Warren Barrash, along with colleagues in biology, geophysics, materials science and engineering, and electrical and computer engineering.

Boise State also received two major NSF awards for scientific instrumentation that will enable researchers in a number of scientific and engineering fields to pursue new studies in the years ahead. The grants include $620,000 for a thermal ionization mass spectrometer that will be the centerpiece of a new ultra-clean laboratory in the Department of Geosciences. The instrument measures the products of radioactive decay in microscopic minerals and can be used to determine the age of geologic materials such as rocks or fossils, and the composition of environmental samples such as dissolved minerals in water or lead contaminants in soil.

A second NSF instrumentation award will fund an analytical transmission microscope nicknamed the "Millon Dollar Baby . The $691,910 NSF award was matched by a $125,000 grant from the Micron Technology Foundation and $180,000 from Boise State, for a total funding level of $996,910 for instrumentation and support services. The instrument will be housed in the university’s new Center for Materials Characterization

Other research highlights for fiscal 2006 include:

• BSU researchers received grants from state or federal agencies to study ecology, behavior or habitat for flammulated owls, pygmy rabbits, southern Idaho ground squirrels, bull trout, raptors, white pelicans and other species.

• Cheryl Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering, received $10,000 from the National Science Foundation for mentoring projects. Schrader is one of 11 recipients nationwide of the 2005 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

• Annette Totten, College of Health Sciences, received $391,642 from the U.S. Administration on Aging for the Center for the Study of Aging at Boise State.

• Todd Shallat, director of the Center for the Study of Idaho History and Politics, received $1,800 from the Idaho Humanities Council for the public policy journal Idaho Issues Online at www.idahoissues.com.

• Biology professor Denise Wingett received a $195,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for asthma studies.

• William Parrett, director of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies, received a $110,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Education for technical assistance for a "Reading First" program in southwest Idaho.

• John Gardner, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, received $435,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for wind energy research. The grant will enable the university to develop new technologies aimed at reducing the costs of producing electricity on wind farms and at distributed locations.

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