January 17, 2007

ASU Receives $1.85 Million in Graduate Fellowships from Science Foundation of Arizona

TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State University will receive $1.85 million from the Science Foundation of Arizona (SFAz) as part of the foundation's Graduate Student Fellowship program.

In all, SFAz is giving out $4 million in the Graduate Student Fellowship program, which is geared toward challenging Arizona's research performing institutions leadership to set quality standards for key graduate programs and to use this investment to transform competent graduate programs into world-competitive programs.

SFAz invests in partnerships between nonprofit research institutions and industry; other science, engineering and math programs; and in the education pipeline to help Arizona create a knowledge driven economy.

"By awarding these fellowships, we may be supporting a future researcher who transforms the medical field with a novel discovery or the next tech company entrepreneur who employs thousands in high quality jobs here in our own backyard," said William Harris, president and CEO of SFAz.

The $1.85 million awarded to ASU will fund approximately 37 graduate students for up to $50,000 each, said Andrew Webber, ASU associate dean of graduate studies.

"The funds will provide us with the ability to attract top notch students in three specific areas -- sustainable energy, the diagnosis and prevention of infectious diseases and the interfacing of mechanical and computational technologies with people," Webber said.

ASU had a particularly strong proposal before the Science Foundation of Arizona, added Stephen Goodnick, associate vice president for research.

In the area of sustainable energy systems, ASU has a broad based research portfolio ranging from semiconductor and molecular photovoltaics to fuel cells, and bioenergy conversion and biofuel production, providing training opportunities for students from almost all disciplines, Goodnick said.

For vaccines and disease prevention, ASU can draw from major multi-laboratory programs in vaccinology and a very large science and engineering base involved in end-to-end systems for detecting pathogens and monitoring individual health status. For the interface of humans and machines area, ASU has programs in place to provide visual interpretation for the blind, intelligent prostheses for those who lost limbs and brain/machine interfaces to reestablish neuromuscular function after injury.

"A key for us was that with each focus area, ASU has very strong mentors," Goodnick added. "We will build on these foundations and infuse fresh intellectual talent into these three important use-inspired research projects."

The Graduate Research Fellowship grants are the first grants from SFAz, which has the goal of building world-class science, engineering and medical infrastructure in Arizona by fostering innovative research programs. The University of Arizona received $1.75 million in grants and Northern Arizona University received $400,000 in this round of funding.

The graduate student fellowships are just one of several "investments" being rolled out this year. Other investment programs of the SFAz are:

Competitive Advantage Awards. These will fund the most competitive and strategically important programs across Arizona. The funds will support activities necessary to the development of outstanding, highly competitive research and technology development proposals.

Strategic Research Groups. These funds will seed partnerships between researchers from research performing institutions and industry in strategic areas. The purpose of this investment is to increase the probability of Arizona attracting major, federal research center or large group grants. SFAz will establish up to 10 SRGs in 2007.

Small Business Catalytic Funding. This will provide seed investments in innovation at Arizona's research performing institutions that have high-impact commercial outcomes. SFAz investments will leverage the potential of Arizona's researchers to secure much larger amounts of funding for technology commercialization. The purpose of this is to create a catalyst for technology development, company formation and high tech job creation in Arizona.

K-12 Student and Teacher Discovery. This program will provide research internships for high school science and math teachers in the summer of 2007. Up to 150 teachers will work in paid research-based programs throughout Arizona. A student focus of the program will spur involvement of K-12 students in scientific discovery activities, focusing particularly on students in rural areas of Arizona. The goal is to target students and teachers in an effort to stimulate experiences in math, science and technology bringing excitement of discovery back to the classroom.

The Science Foundation of Arizona is supported by a $35 million "21st Century Fund," established in 2006 by the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Sources:
Andrew Webber, (480) 965-5906
Stephen Goodnick, (480) 225-9721

Media contact:
Skip Derra, (480) 965-4823
Skip.derra@asu.edu