SIUC Research Profile
Scientific discovery, scholarly inquiry, and creative achievement are central to the mission of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. We are one of a handful of major research universities in Illinois and the only one in the southern half of the state.
We are classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Research University: High Research Activity, the second-highest tier. The National Science Foundation ranks SIUC #101 among public universities in the United States for total R&D expenditures, and #142 among all U.S. universities (NSF, Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2006, November 2007). This places SIUC among the top 4 percent of U.S. higher education institutions for research.
SIUC faculty are at work every day—in the lab and in the library, in the field and online, in the classroom and in the studio—to expand knowledge and contribute to society. By working alongside faculty and staff researchers, our students learn the latest methods and information in their field and experience the excitement of discovery. That includes undergraduates, who participate in research as undergraduate assistants, as student workers, or through REACH, our undergraduate research program.
Research Centers and Organizations
Office of Research Development & Administration
Grant Funding Overview
Grant funding in FY 2007 surpassed $67 million. A little more than half of that total supported research projects. Another 7 percent supported training projects, and the remainder supported public service and other endeavors.
Federal grant funding totaled $27.6 million, including flowthrough dollars (federal funds subcontracted through state or local agencies, industry, or nonprofit organizations). Grant funding from the state of Illinois rose to nearly $24 million.
Academic areas receiving the most grant funding at SIUC are agriculture, education, engineering, liberal arts, medicine, and science.
Top funders of research grants to SIUC in FY 2007 were the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO), the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Top funders for other types of grants were IDCEO, the Illinois Dept. of Children and Family Services, the U.S. Dept. of Education, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and the Illinois State Board of Education.
As reported to the National Science Foundation, R&D expenditures in science and engineering fields at SIUC totaled $64.7 million in FY 2007. (Expenditures are a different measure from incoming grants and include institutional sources.) R&D expenditures from federal grants totaled $17.7 million.
Grant/Contract Funding - Most Recent Fiscal-Year Data
Technology Transfer Overview
Technology transfer is a growing enterprise at the University. SIUC ranks among the top 125 universities in the nation in terms of patent activity and licensing revenues (FY 2004 data, Association of University Technology Managers). Construction also continues on the Southern Illinois Research Park in Carbondale, a planned $40 million, 42-acre facility to house high-tech spin-off businesses. The park has the existing Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center as one of its anchors, and the first new research-dedicated building opened in February 2006.
A print publication called the SIUC Research Profile is issued annually. This publication contains much of the summary information from this web page and associated linked documents.
The most recent is the 2008 edition, which includes FY 2007 grant data. (The image links to a PDF; note that this is a large file.) Back issues of the Profile (2001 through 2007) are available from the Office of Research Development and Administration at orda@siu.edu or 618-453-4540.
