Milestone in sponsored research funding

Research funding from government agencies, 私人基金会, and other external sources this year is expected to top the $80-million mark for the first time in 电子游戏软件 history, a milestone that faculty and administrators attribute to nearly two decades of strategic initiatives and investment.

So-called sponsored research is projected to total $83 million this year, according to the Office of the Provost. External funding garnered by BC faculty has risen steadily, from $57 million in 2020 to $73 million last year. The funding gains follow another benchmark: In 2016, BC was named an R1 research university, the highest ranking bestowed by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

“There has been an intentional plan on the part of the leadership of the University,” said Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas Chiles, who is also the DeLuca Professor of Biology. “First and foremost, we have invested in our faculty and they are the ones who make this happen.

“这是我们的使命. We strive to benefit the common good. You can see the research taking place at 电子游戏软件 having an impact in real time in the world. You can see interventions developed by social scientists or education scholars. You can see our researchers in the natural sciences creating a greater understanding of our physical world. We are having an impact from every corner of the University. It is a very rewarding and exciting time to be here.”

Aligned with the priorities of the University’s strategic plan, investments have been made in office, 教室和实验室空间, 设备与技术, and support services for researchers, 蔡斯说:—all of which have expanded research capacity, retained experienced scholars, and attracted stellar new faculty.

“We have invested in our faculty and I think the caliber of the faculty across the University is the highest it’s ever been,Chiles说。. “We are competing with the top universities to attract and retain outstanding scholars. You do that by developing a supportive infrastructure, 资本融资, 设施, 有竞争力的薪水.”

教师, 电子游戏正规平台生, and postdoctoral researchers all contribute to the experience of BC undergraduates, 蔡斯说:. “When you layer onto our research the hungry, 我们学生年轻的心灵, engage them in faculty research, 看着他们成长, then move on to make their own impact, 这很令人兴奋.”

BC has made an approximately $300-million investment in the sciences, which includes the construction of 245 Beacon Street, which opened in 2022—home to the new Human-Centered Engineering Department, rapidly growing Computer Science Department, and the new Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. In the liberal arts, BC opened Stokes Hall in 2013, now a focal point of humanities scholarship.

The Provost’s Office has also supported high-impact research through its IGNITE and RADS internal grants programs, designed to foster collaborative projects to advance ideas and projects that could one day compete for funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health, as well as 私人基金会.

Chiles cites the award of multiple MIRA grants from the NIH as an example of the increasingly high caliber of research being conducted at BC. University faculty currently hold 11 MIRA awards, seven of which were awarded to Chemistry faculty.

“The continued successes of our colleagues in winning competitive awards such as MIRA from the NIH speak of the strength of our faculty,” said Chemistry Department Chair Dunwei Wang, 玛格丽特A号. 托马斯·A. ’53 Vanderslice Professor of Chemistry. “This wouldn’t have been possible without strong research support from the Office of Sponsored Programs, 教务长办公室, and the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences service centers. Successes like this are critical in placing BC as a leader in scientific research.”

Ferris Professor of Physics Michael Naughton, who was recently awarded a $750,000 grant from the Mathers Foundation to investigate a new radiation therapy with clinicians at Yale Medicine, said it has been exciting to watch BC’s research profile rise.

“As both an active researcher and a prior vice provost for research, I’m thrilled to see how the University’s research enterprise continues to grow,诺顿说。. “I see it as a further indication, 实际上是一个主要的驱动因素, of BC’s increased stature as an internationally-recognized university. It shows that recent strategic investments in research-intensive areas, and in the excellent faculty that were and continue to be recruited, 正在得到回报.”