The final version of the stimulus package allocates approximately $16 billion for federal agencies that provide grants for scientific research conducted at universities. The National Institutes of Health is expected to receive $10 billion, including $8.5 billion for research and $1.5 billion for university research facilities.
The National Science Foundation will receive $3 billion, including $2.5 billion for research, $400 million for infrastructure and $100 million for education. The Department of Energy will receive $2 billion for scientific research, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will be allotted $1 billion, including $400 million for climate change research.
The stimulus package could have "huge positive effects" for Dartmouth and the Upper Valley community once government agencies begin to distribute funds, associate dean for the sciences C. Robertson McClung said. The increased availability of funds could improve Dartmouth researchers' success rates for securing grants by 50 to 100 percent, he predicted.
More awards could help attract and support faculty and students by strengthening Dartmouth's research program, Mortali said.
It is still unknown, however, how government agencies will allocate stimulus funds to specific institutions, McClung said.
Government agencies are the largest source of scientific research funding at Dartmouth, the Office of Sponsored Projects reported for the 2007 fiscal year -- the most recent report available. Dartmouth received roughly $80.4 million from the NIH, $8.22 million from the NSF, $1.74 million from NASA and $897,698 from the DOE in that year, the report said.
The federal grants supported scientific research at the College, Dartmouth Medical School and the Thayer School of Engineering, according to the report.
During the 2007 fiscal year, the Thayer School saw a 16-percent decrease in total awards from 2006, and DMS saw a 9-percent decrease, while the undergraduate college saw an 8-percent increase, according to the report.
Overall, Dartmouth has seen a decrease in total awards received for all types of academic research since 2005. Although funding from the Department of Energy increased by roughly 73 percent from 2006 to 2007 and sponsorship by the NSF increased by approximately 2 percent over this period, funding from NASA decreased by approximately 50 percent. The NIH also awarded the College roughly 18 percent less in 2007 than in 2006, according to the report.
On average, Dartmouth researchers still have a higher success rate in securing national grants than faculty at other schools, according to Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt.
"I think it's a testament to the quality of scientific research at Dartmouth that the success rates have held [in comparison to other schools]," McClung said, adding that Dartmouth has still not been as successful in securing grants recently as in the past.
Although the NIH budget doubled between 1999 and 2003, its has not significantly expanded since then to keep pace with inflation. Coupled with the rapid increase in demand for funding, the slow growth of the budget has made it more difficult for professors to renew existing grants and secure new ones, McClung and Mortali said.
The increase in scientific research funding provided by the stimulus package could also help create more jobs and support local and businesses, McClung said. Much of the grant money awarded to professors is used to pay fellows, students and technicians who work in labs, while the remainder is typically spent on supplies.
Staff writer Drew Joseph contributed to the reporting of this article.
