Miami University breaks external funding record in fiscal year 2024
“The pursuit of external grants directly supports our educational mission. The opportunity to be engaged in research as collaborators is what sets Miami apart in its commitment to teaching,” Sue McDowell, vice president for research and innovation, said.
Miami University breaks external funding record in fiscal year 2024
Miami University set a new record for external funding in fiscal year 2024. Total external funding received for grants and contracts from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024 was more than $50.9 million, an increase of more than 33% of the previous record of $37 million in FY 2023.
This is also more than triple the funding in FY 2017, according to Miami’s office of research and innovation.
The largest funding agencies for FY 2024 include the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Ohio Department of Education, and the Butler County Board of Commissioners.
“The research enterprise at Miami continues to grow, building on the strength of our staff and faculty, and supported by continued investments,” Rick Page, associate vice president for research and innovation, said. “From providing high-value services to the region to experiential learning for Miami students, the external awards are an example of the fantastic work going on at Miami."
The largest single grant in Miami’s history
The Butler County Board of Commissioners awarded Miami $10 million to develop the Advanced Manufacturing Workforce and Innovation Hub. The project, led by Randi Malcolm Thomas, vice president of Miami’s Office of ASPIRE, and Ande Durojaiye, vice president of Miami Regionals and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science, will bolster Butler County and the Southwest Ohio region's strong manufacturing base and serve the needs of industry, residents, and students through training, education, and research.
The Hub — which is a collaboration among the Butler County Board of Commissioners, Miami University, Butler Tech, and the city of Hamilton — will leverage this $10 million funding to attract future awards and foster applied research partnerships in manufacturing.
Two centers make a significant impact
Scripps Gerontology Center
About 10% of all external funding into Miami is through the efforts of Scripps Gerontology Center researchers, according to Sue McDowell, vice president for research and innovation.
These Scripps researchers include Katy Abbott, executive director; Bob Applebaum, director of the Ohio Long-Term Care Research Project at Scripps; Jennifer Heston-Mullins, associate director of research; Suzanne Kunkel, senior research scholar; and affiliate faculty such as John Bowblis, professor of Economics and research fellow. This funding enables partnering nursing homes to implement data-informed strategies to improve care. “The funding also ensures students working with these researchers have the opportunity to see the direct impact research can have on the lives of patients and residents,” McDowell said.
Discovery Center
The Discovery Center for Evaluation, Research, and Professional Learning, directed by Sarah Woodruff, was responsible for 10% of Miami’s total funding for FY 2024 — more than $5.8 million. The center continues to garner national recognition as a leader in supporting the assessment of outcomes in research, in pedagogical interventions, in health interventions, and more.
“The Discovery Center is a source of great pride within the College of Education, Health, and Society, “ Amity Noltemeyer, interim dean of the College of Education, Health, and Society, said. “Their established success with comprehensive research and evaluation has propelled evidence-based practices and continuous improvement within local, state, and national organizations.”
McDowell added, “It is the reputation that this center has developed over the past 24 years for sound research design in assessing project outcomes that bolsters the likelihood of funding for a number of award recipients in diverse fields as funders seek to ensure that award dollars are having impact in communities, in educational outcomes, and in health benefits."
These opportunities are being funded through grants coming to the university due to the stellar reputation of faculty and staff deeply engaged in their research and deeply committed to the education of both undergraduate and graduate students here at Miami University, McDowell said.
STEM Research Funding
Funding highlights in the area of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in FY 2024 include, among others:
- Faculty in the Department of Physics have received multiple federal grants for advancing quantum science research, with applications ranging from healthcare to national security.
- Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, professor of Biology, received three awards from the National Institutes of Health in the past three years (2022, 2023, 2024) totaling more than $920,000, recognizing her team’s groundbreaking research on embryonic eye models with potential clinical applications for age-related eye conditions.
- Allison Farrell, assistant professor of Psychology, received more than $600,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, building upon years of externally funded research within the department.
- Two patents were issued to members of the College of Engineering and Computing in 2024. Mark Scott, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received a patent for an invention that will improve diagnostic tools for solar panels and electric vehicles where device failure can result in loss of efficient energy production as well as injury. Lei Kerr, professor Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering, received a patent for her invention that models the nasal cavity of humans. The human nose has a very distinct geometry to that of animals, and this in-vitro model provides an alternative route for risk assessment of inhaled particles that humans experience daily in the environment.
“This pursuit of external grants directly supports our educational mission,” McDowell said. “Miami is a student-centered institution and the integration of teaching and research is at the heart of the goal for increasing grant funding. Grants provide not only equipment and supplies for doing research, but much more importantly, grants provide undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to do research and the wages to afford to participate.”
“The opportunity to be engaged in research as collaborators is what sets Miami apart in its commitment to teaching,” McDowell added.
“Personally, I am excited by the research at Miami because the growth in external awards is a recognition of the reputation our researchers have rightfully garnered within their fields of study and because these funds go directly to our mission, providing research opportunities to students who have entrusted us with their education.”
