Ff

BY THE NUMBERSKentucky in FY 2012

$25 Million: NSF funds awarded 40th: National ranking in NSF funds 16: NSF-funded institutions 115: NSF grant awards

EXAMPLES OF NSF-FUNDED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN KENTUCKY

EXAMPLES OF NSF-FUNDED EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN KENTUCKY

Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) 1527 Eighteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cnsfweb.org

Kentucky

A NSF-funded chemical engineer at the University of Kentucky has demonstrated that a specialized coating on the surface of implanted medical devices, including stents and catheters, can reduce the chances of blood clots and other negative side effects of mechanical implanted devices in patients.

Researchers at the Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC) at the University of Kentucky maintain a collection of Mexican axolotls, also known as Mexican walking fish. The axolotl's ability to regenerate its body parts (including spinal cord, jaw and limbs) gives researchers an important model to learn why some organisms can regenerate complex tissues while others (including humans) cannot.

Researchers from Western Kentucky University and the University of Nairobi are developing low-cost, automated systems to reduce crop damage by large mammals in sub-Saharan Africa, where some area have seen crop losses greater than 90 percent. This study supports the development and testing of devices that are animal-triggered, nonlethal and portable; they distract wildlife from feeding while alerting farmers to their presence and would benefit farmers living near wild lands or protected areas.

The Kentucky/West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) alliance is a collaboration of ten academic institutions, the KY-NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), the WV-NSF EPSCoR, two state agencies and other partners working to increase the number of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees awarded to underrepresented students.

The University of Kentucky Research Foundation is conducting a study examining Appalachian Math and Science Partnership (AMSP) effects on student learning. A goal of the partnership is to close the achievement gap in student math and science knowledge. The study will focus specifically on the independent effects of teacher participation in AMSP on student outcomes and evaluate overall the effectiveness of the program. 

 

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF)

is the only federal agency whose mission includes support

for all fields of fundamental science and engineering.

Kentucky

Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) 1527 Eighteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cnsfweb.org

THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) not only funds cutting-edge research at institutions across the country, NSF’s education initiatives ensure the U.S. will remain a global leader in innovation for generations to come.

INVESTMENT IN SCIENCE = INVESTMENT IN KENTUCKYAccording to the University of Louisville, each dollar in federal funding for research generates $2.20 for Kentucky is local and state economies.

Research funding channeled through the Kentucky EPSCoR Program has produced diverse dividends including research-related jobs, acquisition of state-of-the-art research equipment, economic development opportunities, as well as recognition of research expertise among sponsors and peers.  

• Awards to new faculty at non-research intensive institutions• Scholarships/stipends for graduate students participating in academic bridge programs• Summer research experience for undergraduates• Outreach to K-12 classrooms• Summer internships and a yearlong undergraduate training program

RESEARCH STIMULATED BY EPSCoR UNIVERSITY PARTNERS 

Eastern Kentucky UniversityMorehead State University

Murray State UniversityNorthern Kentucky University

University of KentuckyUniversity of Louisville

Western Kentucky University Kentucky State University

Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities

KENTUCKY’S EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM to STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH (EPSCoR) AWARD

Kentucky is among several states selected by NSF to receive an EPSCoR award. This is one of the largest federal science grants ever awarded to the state. Kentucky EPSCoR has contributed significantly to

Kentucky’s reform of postsecondary education and has formed critical links to the state’s New Economy Strategy.  Further, it is advancing the development of the Commonwealth’s two major academic institutions (UK and UL) as preeminent research-intensive universities and is enhancing the research capacity of the comprehensive universities (EKU, KSU, NKU, WKU, Morehead, and Murray). Kentucky has reaped over

$340 million in federal, state, university and industrial funding through leveraged EPSCoR programs since 1985. http://www.kyepscor.org/