UD sets record with $130 million in sponsored research

The University of Dayton’s sponsored research will reach nearly $130 million this fiscal year, setting a new record at the institution.

Sponsored research grew by 10 percent, which marks three consecutive years of double-digit growth, said John Leland, UD vice president for research. UDRI research increased by 20 percent in 2016 and 13 percent in 2015, according to the university.

“It’s not just another new record,” Leland said. “In an environment where nationwide university research funding as a whole is flat it’s quite remarkable.”

The announcement comes just a year after UD’s sponsored research topped $100 million.

Last year the University of Dayton Research Institute totaled $117.6 million in research and UD’s cumulative sponsored research also surpassed $2 billion in 2016.

The first contract for what became UDRI, agreed on in 1949, was with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The contract was for $10,200. UDRI’s continuing success is due to the institute’s expansion and focus.

UDRI “has a different model of doing business than most universities” Leland said.

Universities typically focus on basic fundamental research but more funding agencies are interested in solutions or demonstrations of technology, Leland said. UDRI strategy consists on focusing on multiple forms of research so that the university is competing in each category, Leland said.

“We do everything and there’s no one type of research we don’t do,” Leland said. “That’s been really key to growth and moving up that chain.”

UDRI’s success is felt throughout the university,” UD President Eric Spina wrote in a recent blog post referencing the latest research milestone.

To highlight UDRI’s success, the university has launched a new interactive website that boasts the school’s high marks for research. The website, called “Momentum,” also tells 12 stories of UD research initiatives.

“We’re focused on the common good — on developing real solutions that have a real impact on society,” Spina wrote. “That’s why students are cultivating an urban farm in East Dayton and designing a high school 8,000 miles away in Malawi.”