Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
This proposal represents the culmination of many years of EPSCoR experience in Kentucky. Ever since
the program was started in 1986 by Dr. Lee Todd (now the president of the University of Kentucky), it has
adhered to a vision of the future consistent with the goal of bringing the Commonwealth to a nationally
competitive level. Over the course of a year-long selection process, which included both an internal and
external evaluation of the intellectual merit of the proposal ideas, KY NSF EPSCoR identified three focus
areas to support and develop through infrastructure-building and educational activities. These areas have
the greatest potential of achieving national recognition and contributing to the citizens and economic
development of Kentucky. KY NSF EPSCoR will maximize the leverage of EPSCoR funding by
supporting these areas for a short time with the condition that they become self-sustainable after the
EPSCoR grant has ended.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky faces a number of challenges in overcoming obstacles to hightechnology
economic development. Some of the barriers the State faces include a lack of high
technology industry and no large Federal presence (such as a National Laboratory). Kentucky still ranks
very low (47'h) on the list of per capita research and development (R&D) investment. On the other hand,
academic research has made significant progress in recent years toward becoming nationally competitive.
In 2000, Kentucky legislation (the Kentucky Innovations Act or "KIA") provided significant funding and a
focused plan for improving the R&D infrastructure within the State. Considering the obstacles mentioned
previously, this legislation committed to improving the R&D infrastructure primarily through investments in
Kentucky's two research universities, the University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Louisville (UL),
but also through complementary investments in regional universities, which include Kentucky State
University (KSU), the only historically black college/university in the State. Over the past eight years, the
Kentucky share of the NSF research budget has increased by 50%. A significant part of this has been
due to an investment of EPSCoR funds; but this investment has complemented some very important
State initiatives, such as the Research Challenge Trust Fund ("Bucks for Brains") and the establishment of
the Office for the New Economy. These two State programs have provided matching funds for the
establishment of chaired professorships and provided resources to several economically important areas
of research. If Kentucky's research infrastructure growth continues at the present rate, the
Commonwealth should reach the graduation criterion (0.7% of the NSF research budget) within the next
ten years. The significant recent progress in developing academic research, excellent complementary
programs, and a focused strategic plan for research development (under KIA) represent Kentucky's
strengths as well as an opportunity to do more to push the State toward competitiveness by supporting
the identified focus areas.
Kentucky NSF EPSCoR proposes to overcome its barriers to progress by augmenting the research
infrastructure and expertise in all parts of the State and concentrating on those areas in which the New
Economy's strategic plan has been focused. There are two implementation mechanisms for improving
Kentucky's competitiveness: (1) an investment in infrastructure improvement, and (2) an investment in
education, outreach and diversity. The proposal describes how Kentucky will address the first of these by
developing three areas at the top of the state's New Economy priority list: nanotechnology (with an
emphasis on sensors), biotechnology (specializing in metabolomics), and information technology
(specifically in the virtual environments area). This effort will be concentrated at three of Kentucky's
universities (UK, UL and KSU). The second investment is designed to augment scientific expertise in all
parts of the State, which constitutes a contribution to the broader impacts of the proposed infrastructure
improvement initiatives. This will include a comprehensive plan to increase the level of competence and
public awareness in environmental issues. A new Institute at Eastern Kentucky University will coordinate
efforts in the eastern part of the state, and a continuation of the Kentucky Environmental Research and
Educational Consortium will coordinate the western part through the Tracy Farmer Center for the
Environment, newly established with private funds on the UK campus. Kentucky NSF EPSCoR will also
pursue an aggressive plan to increase diversity in the scientific expertise across the State through the
Research Enhancement Grant Program and the Summer Research Program, both of which are focused
on bringing undergraduate women and minorities into the State's scientific enterprise.
The three-year program described here includes a 50% matching cash (not in-kind) cost commitment from
the State government and will be managed through the not-for-profit Kentucky Science and Technology
Corporation, which is independent from the State and the university systems.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 6/1/05 → 12/31/08 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation: $9,250,000.00
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Projects
- 3 Finished
-
Building Kentucky's New Economy with EPSCoR: UK Nano Initiative (CeNSE)
6/1/05 → 5/31/08
Project: Research project
-
Building Kentucky's New Economy with EPSCoR: UK Nano Initiative
6/1/05 → 5/31/08
Project: Research project
-
Building Kentucky's New Economy with EPSCoR: UK Virtual Environments Initiative
Donohue, K. & Jaynes, C.
6/1/05 → 6/30/08
Project: Research project