Atlanta — January 14, 2004

Several University System of Georgia institutions are emerging as nationally prominent research centers, helping to set a new System record for grants and contracts funding totaling $861 million in Fiscal Year 2003.

The exact total - $861,148,879 - represents an 8.4 percent increase over similar funding in Fiscal Year 2002. Of this total, nearly $533 million was for research, $241 million for public service, and $87.6 million for instruction. The figures were released this week as part of an annual report on grants and contracts prepared for the Board of Regents by the Office of Strategic Research and Analysis.

The record set in research income reflects the rising quality and reputation of several of the System’s institutions, especially the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia, according to Dr. Daniel S. Papp, senior vice chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs.

“Over the course of 30 years, the System’s research institutions have grown tremendously in stature, to the point where they now are among the nation’s major players in research and development,” said Papp. “The National Science Foundation ranks Georgia 10th nationally in research and development income to universities.”

Grants and contracts include funds received from external sources, such as federal and state grants and the non-profit sector, as well as research and development projects conducted for business and industry.

“This represents recognition that several of the University System of Georgia’s institutions have the intellectual resources and support facilities needed to conduct research and implement contracts in many critical research areas,” said Dr. Cathie Mayes Hudson, associate vice chancellor for Strategic Research and Analysis. “We have an impressive level of funding support, given a weakened economy and a general cutback on research activities by the government and corporations.”

Topping the list of contracts from external sources is a $5.8 million grant received by UGA from the National Institutes of Health for the Southeast Collaboratory for Structural Genomics. Georgia Tech received $3.6 million from the National Science Foundation to develop low-cost electronic packaging and $3.3 million from the United States Air Force for its Integrated Electronic Combat III Program.

The report for Fiscal Year 2003 shows that 56 percent of the System’s research income came from federal sources, while 23 percent came from the state of Georgia. The non-profit sector accounted for 9 percent of the total, with business contributing six percent. Other sources combined for the remaining six percent.

The University System also maintains a stream of income from the intellectual property generated by its faculty and researchers. In Fiscal Year 2003, total income from this source came to more than $8 million. This figure represented $5.3 million in lucrative inventions, close to $1.5 million in software, and $175,600 in copyrights and trademarks generated by Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, the Medical College of Georgia, UGA and North Georgia College & State University.

University System of Georgia officials have stated their intention to increase emphasis on commercializing the research developments emanating from the major research universities. An external study conducted by the Washington Advisory Group found that the patent flow of the System’s research universities and the income generated from these activities can increase significantly if opportunities are optimized.

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