Fourth Assessment of the Science, Engineering, and Math Infrastructure at Three Universities in Kansas

Abstract

As part of its NSF EPSCoR project, Kansas made a serious commitment to provide an annual assessment of the status of science, engineering and math (SEM) research and infrastructure at the state's three Ph.D. granting institutions (Kansas State University, University of Kansas, and Wichita State University). This report presents the annual update of the database, which contains information about personnel, graduate enrollment, degrees awarded, facilities, and grant activity. With data spanning four years (1991 through 1994), growth in the infrastructure and improvement in competition for federal grants could be examined.

NSF EPSCoR funding to Kansas began in FY 1992. The time span (three years from 1991 to 1994) and funding available (four percent of the total R&D expenditures) to improve the state's competitive position are relatively small given the magnitude of the challenge, but progress has been made. The state must continue to work hard to overcome the sizable gap that continues to exist in the area of grant funding, but key areas identified in the statewide NSF EPSCoR initiative are beginning to show positive growth.