Research grants awarded to ISU faculty reached an all-time high in 2004, according to reports from the office of the Vice Provost for Research and Advanced Studies.

ISU researchers attracted $274 million in external funding, $163 million of which came in the form of grants for research. The new university record represents a 19 percent increase over the previous record, set last year. The increase represents a major development for ISU researchers, said James Bloedel, vice provost for research and advanced studies.

“It’s huge,” Bloedel said of the funding benefits. “It basically enables the faculty to pursue a very high level of scholarship in their research. Without this funding, the faculty could not exercise their expertise, particularly in scientific disciplines, and would not be able to generate the publications that are possible through the research that is funded from these sources.”

The money comes from contracts and grants received this year from federal, state and local governments, corporations and foundations. The bulk of the amount, $169 million, comes from federal agencies.

The money is used for research projects, public service and extension activities, educational projects, student financial aid and capital expenses such as buildings and equipment.

External funds are crucial to projects like one being conducted by Gary Wells, distinguished professor of psychology. Wells is working to determine the effect composite images of criminals have on the ability of eyewitnesses to identify the suspect in later instances, such as police lineups.

Wells received a three-year grant of $380,000 from the National Science Foundation to carry out the research.

“[Grants] are increasingly important, especially in times in which the state is not supporting the university very well,” Wells said. “And they’re important to individual researchers who, in many cases, could not do that research without some kind of external funding.”

The increase in external funding may also prove beneficial to the university itself, Wells said. As much as 50 percent of the money from certain grants goes back to the university itself in the form of compensation for the use of facilities and other items. The prestige of receiving these grants also adds to the university’s recruiting power.

The increase in funding can be credited to the work of ISU faculty, said Sonja Klocker, assistant to the vice provost for research.

“It’s mainly due to the efforts of our faculty and staff,” she said. “We brought in a lot of new faculty in the past few years, and now that they’re set up in their labs, they’re able to compete for external funding.”