UNO Researchers Awarded Record High $37.5M in Research Funding in 2021-22

Researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) have once again set a new university record for research funding, having been awarded $37.5 million in grants from external sources in fiscal year 2022.

The funding represents a 67 percent increase in funding compared to the year prior and tops the previous record of $26.6 million set in fiscal year 2020 by nearly 41 percent. Setting another new record for research dollars came as no surprise to Sara Myers, Ph.D., who was recently named interim associate vice chancellor of research and creative activity at UNO.

“Our researchers continue to raise the bar in terms of research funding and capacity here at UNO, having set new record highs for research funding three times in the past five years,” Myers said. “The work done here directly supports the university’s mission to transform life locally, nationally, and globally. Studies funded in the past year have supported workforce development strategies in Nebraska, international engagement, and breakthroughs that will impact our quality of life now and in the future.”

These funds were awarded to 97 primary investigators at UNO by 14 different state agencies and 17 different federal departments. The College of Business Administration ($9.7M); the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences ($8.5M); and the College of Information Science & Technology ($7.0M) led the way collectively earning 67 percent of all external funding.

Adding to UNO’s status and reputation as a leading research institution, a recent report by Stanford University found that nine current and former UNO faculty rank among the top 2 percent of researchers cited in the world. It’s no wonder that more outside agencies are funding more grant proposals and investigators at UNO than ever before.

Additional research and creative activity highlights from across the UNO campus include:

• Through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), UNO brings hundreds of young leaders from Southeast Asia for an international exchange to study leadership and civic engagement, explore American culture, and more.
• Through its foundational grant by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism, Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) center at UNO has begun to take on additional projects and receive additional funding from the government through basic ordering agreements. This opens the door for NCITE to dramatically expand its potential for funded research opportunities.
• A study led by Philippe Malcolm, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomechanics at UNO, on a surprising way to make walking easier was published in the prestigious journal Science Robotics.
• The Summer Musical Theatre Academy, made possible through generous community and university support, put on a production of Fame: The Musical on UNO’s campus and at the newly renovated Gene Leahy Mall in downtown Omaha.
• UNO’s Center for Public Affairs Research (CPAR) secured additional funding through the Nebraska Department of Transportation to continue its work in supporting and growing rural transit across Nebraska.
• Led by Robin Gandhi, Ph.D., professor and director of the School of Interdisciplinary Informatics, UNO and UNL researchers are working to protect systems used to closely monitor the health and safety of Nebraska’s bridges.