research funding

On December 16, Congress released a $1.15 trillion FY 2016 omnibus spending bill and a $600 billion tax extenders package that it will be voting on in the coming days.

The Center for Emerging and Innovative Sciences (CEIS) has been renewed by New York State as one of its Centers for Advanced Technology (CAT) and will receive $9.2 million in funding over the next 10 years.

David Williams, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on human vision, received the $500,000 prize for his transformative breakthroughs in vision research and adaptive optics.

Thirty-three scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs will have three minutes each to present their innovative idea in a rapid-fire competition to win a spot at the prestigious Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin.

The FY 2016 House Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee this week includes $68 million for the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, the same level as FY15, but $7.5 million above President Barack Obama's request.

Joshua Dubler's project will shed new light on how changes in the religious landscape in America have contributed to tremendous growth in the prison system over the last 40 years.

President Seligman issued a statement in response to the fiscal year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill released by the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Dec. 9. The House of Representatives is planning to vote as early as Thursday on the measure, which would then go to the Senate. Current government funding runs out on Dec. 11.

"The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is currently conducting a review on grants issued by the agency for some 60 merit-reviewed projects, including one from the University of Rochester. Scientific research awarded through peer-review process should not be subject to political or ideological interference."

Founded in 2006, the Central New York Humanities Corridor is an interdisciplinary collaboration among research institutions and liberal arts colleges focused on enhancing scholarship in the humanities. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has committed a matching grant of $500,000 to the University of Rochester, which will establish an endowment for the University’s continued partnership.

Universities can help drive regional economic development and strengthen American competitiveness — but only if the federal government continues to partner with institutions and commits to provide the sustained research funding that is required to, first, discover a good idea, then “translate” it into products and services that benefit society.