College contracts fund surge

Jeff Benson

As the school continues its efforts to provide the latest and

greatest research contributions in everything from optical technology

to cancer-prevention drugs, it’s also developed a substantial

following.

The university received a record $249 million in contracts and

grants in the 2003-04 school year, said William Parker, vice

chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies. The figure

represents a 6% increase over last year.

“It’s remarkable, because I can now talk about it not just in

numbers but in percentages,” Parker said. “It’s not $249 million --

it’s a quarter of a billion dollars.”

Nearly 82% of the money funded research projects, 7% supported

clinical trials, and 6% went toward training and fellowships, school

officials said. Federal agencies provided 69% of the sum, with the

rest coming mainly from industry and nonprofit organizations. UC

Irvine’s grants and contract amounts have grown by 9% annually over

the last 10 years.

“It’s a lot of money, but we’re still searching for opportunities

to improve our programs and looking for additional funds for this

year,” Parker said. “We’d like to continue to grow our research base

at a 10%-a-year pace, with a balanced agenda from the health sciences

to engineering. We’re not focusing just on medicine. It also means

expanding in physics, chemistry, engineering and sociology.”

One of the major recipients this year was Daniel Gajski, professor

of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the

Center for Embedded Computer Systems. He received $3.3 million from

Interdesign, Inc. for the school’s System-on-Chip Design Environment.

Other recipients included Norman Rostoker, research professor of

physics and astronomy, who received $5.2 million from Tri Alpha

Energy, Inc., to research a hydrogen- and boron-fueled plasma

electric generator; Frank Meyskens, director of the Chao Family

Comprehensive Cancer Center, who received National Cancer Institute

grants of $2.6 and $2.2 million to test cancer-prevention drugs; and

pharmacology professor Frances Leslie, who received $2 million from

several organizations to support the UCI Transdisciplinary Tobacco

Use Research Center.

* JEFF BENSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298.