Montana State sets new record in annual research expenditures at over $257 million

BOZEMAN -Montana State University has set a new record for expenditures on research at more than $257 million, exceeding the prior year's total by 12% and marking six consecutive years of record-setting research growth at the state's largest university.

In its annual report to the National Science Foundation, MSU recorded research activities totaling $257.9 million for fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30. That's compared to the $230 million in expenditures reported to the NSF's Higher Education Research and Development survey a year earlier.

Funds spent on research support scientific discovery, rural outreach and a variety of scholastic pursuits, as well as hands-on opportunities for MSU students, including undergraduates, to engage in science and creative activities that build skills for careers after they earn their degrees.

The number of MSU faculty members leading research studies as principal investigators or co-principal investigators increased by 6% to 445. The overall number of funding proposals submitted by MSU faculty increased by 14%, and the number of new awards increased by 11%. The total funds awarded to MSU researchers in FY24 - as opposed to the year's expenditures - increased by 25% to $207,041,383. That's up from $166,202,476 in FY23.

"MSU is seeing strong, steady growth in research," said Alison Harmon, vice president for research and economic development. "Beyond record expenditures, I am proud of the growth in the number of faculty serving as principal investigators and co-principal investigators, which demonstrates their tenacity in pursuing funding opportunities."

The university's research expenditures first exceeded $200 million in 2022, accomplishing one of the long-term goals set forth in MSU's strategic plan, "Choosing Promise," as part of the aim to achieve the highest standards of research and creative outcomes. The university reached that objective two years ahead of its stated goal. MSU's research enterprise is larger than all public and private universities in the state combined.

"This continuing, positive trajectory of research expenditures and advancements in scholarship reflects the extraordinary talent and creativity of our faculty," said Bob Mokwa, MSU's executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. "We're equally proud of the many students who contribute to this success, advancing meaningful discoveries while gaining hands-on experience that enriches their education and sharpens their problem-solving skills."

Among MSU's academic colleges, the College of Agriculture reported the largest expenditures at $54.1 million, followed by the College of Letters and Science at $32 million and the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering at $25 million. Among all colleges, the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing reported the highest percentage increase of 132% over FY23 with its expenditure of $16.1 million in 2024. The College of Education, Health and Human Development recorded $7 million, the College of Arts and Architecture recorded $101,609 and the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship recorded $39,472.

MilTech, which accelerates the transition of new technologies to the U.S. government, led university programs in expenditures with $44.6 million. It was followed by TechLink with $9.7 million, the Western Transportation Institute with $4.4 million and the Center for American Indian Rural Health Equity with $3.7 million.

A total of 445 tenure-track faculty recorded expenditures in FY24, which directly supported research opportunities for 837 undergraduate students through programs like MSU's Undergraduate Scholars Program. The funds also supported 681 graduate students, up from 612 last year.

Ninety percent of MSU's research expenditures came via competitively awarded funds provided by federal agencies, including the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and NASA. The remaining 10% of funding came from private sources and from the state.

MSU is one of only 146 institutions in the U.S. to receive an R1 designation for its "very high research activity" by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Among those, MSU and Utah State University are the only two that also have an enrollment profile of "very high undergraduate," a twin accomplishment that is very hard to achieve since many R1 universities lean heavily on larger graduate populations to fuel research. Carnegie also recognized MSU as one of 69 public R1 universities for community engagement. MSU has also been named among the top universities in the world for its scientific impact and collaboration, ranking 168th out of the top 206 in the U.S. by the CWTS Leiden Ranking.

A sampling of research grants for fiscal year 2024 related to future research expenditures include:

• Yves Idzerda, dean of MSU's College of Letters and Science, won a $26.7 million grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Lab for MSU's Applied Quantum CORE facility. MSU's Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and the College of Education, Health and Human Development are involved in this project.
• Amy LaRose, program lead for special projects at MSU's MilTech, was awarded $12.5 million by Wright Patterson Air Force Base Marine Corps Warfighter Lab Science and Tech Support.
• Daniel Juliano, associate director of technology at MSU's TechLink Center, and professor Virginia Bratton from the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship were awarded a $6 million National Science Foundation cooperative agreement aimed at creating additional opportunities to translate MSU research into products and solutions with real-life impact.
• Chelsea Heveran, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, received a $3 million NSF grant to search for a way to use living materials to reduce the building industry's reliance on cement and concrete.
• Neha John-Henderson, associate professor in MSU's Department of Psychology, was awarded $3.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue studying the links between trauma, social connectedness and health among adult members of the Blackfeet community.
• Brian Bothner, director of Montana INBRE, was awarded $20 million from the NIH to support statewide work in biomedical research. INBRE, or the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, is a network of doctorate-granting institutions, baccalaureate schools and tribal colleges that invests in Montana's biomedical research capacity and workforce pipeline to improve the health and well-being of Montanans.
• Austin Leach, associate director of MSU's TechLink Center, was awarded a $1.9 million cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide technology transfer support to the federal agency.
• Craig Ogilvie, dean of MSU's Graduate School, was awarded a $1.1 million grant from the NSF to support Native American graduate students.
• Alexandra Adams, director of MSU's Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity, was awarded a $10.7 million grant to support the center's research mission of creating health equity through trusted partnerships with rural and tribal communities in Montana and beyond.
• Ron June, professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, won a $2.2 million grant from the NIH to further study metabolomic profiling to identify candidate biomarker profiles and molecular endotypes for osteoarthritis.
• Kailyn Mock and the Montana Area Health Education Center and Office of Rural Health, housed in the MSU Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing, was awarded a $1.4 million cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work alongside the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Fort Peck Tribes, Rocky Boy, and Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services to elevate Indigenous health knowledge to reduce the burden of chronic disease.
• Mary Miles, professor of food systems, nutrition and kinesiology, and Zach Miller, superintendent of MSU's Western Agricultural Research Centerin Corvallis, received an $800,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to research the potential health benefits of haskap berries while also learning how to best cultivate haskaps to maximize those benefits.
• Seth Walk, professor of microbiology and cell biology, was awarded a $1.8 million grant by the NIH to research mechanisms of arsenic detoxification by the human microbiome.