Whether discovering why bioterrorist agents such as anthrax are so deadly or why men write the majority of film reviews in the nation's top newspapers, university research drives the scientific, political and cultural agendas in today's information age.
Many universities strive to be distinguished in the field of research because it attracts high-caliber students, prestigious faculty, positive publicity and serves the common good. But before the research can be conducted, published and produce the aforementioned results, schools must first provide the proper infrastructure. Institutions large and small are finding more creative and responsive ways to overcome the pitfalls associated with infrastructure and logistics that can bring research activity to a halt.
There is no single, concrete explanation or finite list of items that defines the category of research infrastructure. The National Science Foundation organizes research infrastructure into two categories: multidisciplinary centers and scientific instrumentation.
Multidisciplinary centers can be physical or virtual and refer to the group of experts that collaborate on a research project. Scientific instrumentation includes the subcategories of research instrumentation (tools that cost more than $10,000) and research equipment (tools that cost less than $10,000).
Infrastructure for research universities consists of the resources needed to conduct research projects, excluding direct costs that should be covered by grants. Research infrastructure is not restricted to the institution's physical location and may include facilities that enhance the research capacity of the university or the higher education system.
Small research universities often face a lack of resources to carry out projects that require a sophisticated infrastructure. San Diego State University (SDSU) in California was ranked as the No. 1 most productive research university among schools with 14 or fewer Ph.D. programs, based on the Academic Analytics' Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index for 2006-07.
Initially, the university had nowhere to conduct research, nor the authority to grant the doctoral degrees needed to be classified as a research institution.
Responding with innovation to these unique challenges, the administration at SDSU established the Research Foundation to provide funding and administer grants, and it collaborated with University of California, San Diego, to grant joint doctoral degrees.
The Research Foundation was established in 1943 to further the educational, research and community service mission of SDSU. It is a self-financed, nonprofit auxiliary organization that administers approximately 1,000 active grants and contracts. Its annual revenues approach $160 million.
SDSU could not build its thriving research program without places for faculty members to carry out their work. The Research Foundation owns and manages more than 1 million square feet of space, with some of it leased commercially.
"The Research Foundation is much more entrepreneurial and light on its feet because it is not bound to the requirements of the state," said Thomas R. Scott, vice president of research and graduate dean at SDSU. "So when we get a grant, the Research Foundation assesses what space is available, finds the appropriate space, puts the researcher in it and permits him or her to use the space for the duration of the award. That's the very essence of infrastructure: keeping rain off of people's heads and lights on in the building."
In 1960, UCSD was established with a master plan for higher education and research. A mutually beneficial relationship emerged between the two universities. Partly due to its ideal location, SDSU had attracted a wide array of quality faculty and researchers. The state school agreed to share its faculty and resources and UCSD shared its Ph.D.-granting programs with SDSU.
"We were able to build programs jointly with UCSD because they recognized the value and quality of our faculty, which we were willing to share," Scott said. "So we provided the resources and they allowed us to grant Ph.D.s under their auspices."
What started out as a collaboration between SDSU and UCSD has expanded to include a host of joint degree offerings with institutions such as University of California institutions in Riverside, Santa Barbara and Davis, as well as Claremont Graduate School.
"If we hadn't grown up during that period, as nimble and aggressive as our administration was, we wouldn't have been able to build the research infrastructure that we now have," Scott said. "The cooperation that we have received from UCSD has really allowed us to become a research university within a teaching system."
This spirit of collaboration and entrepreneurship is literally paying off in an increasing amount of research grants for the school. During the 2007-2008 school year, SDSU researchers received 805 grants for a total of $1.3 million, a 9.4 percent increase from the previous year's total. In addition, SDSU experienced a $7 million increase in research awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
"This is a gratifying increase, accomplished in an austere federal funding climate," Scott said. "Results from the NIH, where success rates are now below 20 percent, are particularly encouraging and demonstrate the highly competitive caliber of SDSU's researchers."
*This story is from Converge magazine's Mixed & Mashed 2008 special issue.
