Michigan State University announces $5M grant to fund infrastructure and research focused on Plant Science and Global Sustainability from the Michigan State University Research Foundation
Shown left to right: Phil Zecher, Dave Washburn, Teresa K. Woodruff, Melissa Woo, Doug Gage, Doug Buhler, Eric Hegg
Grant will build on Michigan State University’s world-class program in the plant sciences and advance critical research in the mitigation of and adaptation to global climate change.
January 18, 2023 - Michigan State University announced today it will receive a $5M grant from the Michigan State University Research Foundation to advance its world-class program in the plant sciences and critical research in the mitigation of and adaptation to global climate change.
The grant complements the University’s and State of Michigan’s investment in the greenhouse complex and the proposed new plant and environmental sciences building. Additionally, the grant enables MSU to continue its longstanding international leadership in plant science, environmental and water quality, food security, mitigation of climate change, and economic development in Michigan and around the world.
“Michigan State University is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research that will play a critical role in addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainability,” said Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD. “This grant will support faculty who are focused on developing innovative solutions for these vexing problems and training the next generation of leaders who will make global impacts in these fields.”
The grant maps perfectly with core elements of the research pillar in the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan and fills critical gaps not addressed by recent significant investments from the University and the State of Michigan.
Specifically, funds will be used as follows:
Capital expenditures to upgrade MSU’s growth chamber complex, which continues to be one of the best in the US. Growth chambers allow researchers to control the environmental conditions when studying plants and the grants will help make upgrades to the chambers to increase energy efficiency and capacity while allowing for new capabilities for growing plants in complex environments.
Capital expenditures will be allocated for The Institute for Cyber-Enabled Research and High-Performance Computing Center for cluster and other hardware acquisition and software upgrades. These resources are particularly critical for MSU’s remote sensing program, research, and precision agriculture.
Funds will be allocated for the Kellogg Biological Station near Gull Lake and be used for greenhouse upgrades and modernization of the laboratory complex. The Kellogg Biological Station is one of North America’s premier field stations for climate change mitigation research in agroecosystems.
Resources will be made available to enhance and acquire state-of-the-art instrumentation for stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry and other core technologies used on campus to determine the environmental sources of greenhouse gases, understand and improve carbon fixation, and uncover key plant-microbe interactions.
MSU’s Office of Research and Innovations is administering the grants.
The plant, environmental, and ecological sciences continue to be flagship programs at MSU, and collectively, are critical to global climate change, environmental degradation, and food security.
Of the 10 MSU disciplines ranked in the top 50 by the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022[i], four fall within the scope of the research supported by this grant. MSU’s strengths in Environmental Sciences and Engineering (7)[ii], agricultural sciences (12)[iii], ecology (32)[iv], and remote sensing (49)[v] place MSU in a unique position among peer institutions to expand its global leadership position in the climate, agricultural, and environmental sciences.
Additionally, eight of the 10 MSU members of the National Academy of Sciences represent the plant sciences or related disciplines, indicating the high caliber of these faculty. Forty-six percent of inventions disclosed to MSU’s Technology Transfer Office come from the College of Natural Science and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources indicating a strong correlation to plant and agricultural sciences and interrelated environmental sciences.
Over the past five years (FY18-FY22), the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources technologies have consistently generated the largest percentage of royalties received by MSU Technologies, the tech transfer arm of MSU.
“The facilities and instrumentation enhancements from this grant will accelerate our progress, retain and recruit the talent needed for MSU to reach and surpass our goal of $1B in annual research expenditures,” said Doug Gage, VP of Research and Innovation at MSU. “Modern, up-to-date infrastructure is essential for us to recruit and retain a team of scientists to create a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming research environment.”
The Michigan State University Research Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was established in 1973 and since then provided over $380M in funding to Michigan State University. The Michigan State University Research Foundation contributed $10.2M to research at Michigan State University for the 2021-22 academic year and budgeted $10.7M in research funding for 2022-2023 academic year.
The MSU Research Foundation is governed by a separate board of directors who have had a strong desire for the Foundation to provide, in addition to its annual grant program, a one-time gift to support an emerging project related to a research topic deemed important to the University. The desire was this grant would be outside The Research Foundation’s normal annual giving to MSU and would impact an area of MSU’s research excellence to further differentiate the university from its peers.
“Our annual grant to Michigan State is a core tenant of our mission at the MSU Research Foundation,” said Foundation Board Chair, Randolph Cowen. “Through programs and resources we provide, our organization is the margin of excellence that helps set MSU apart from its peers and this grant will enable MSU to build on its unique strengths.”
Whether it’s supporting specific programs within the university like graduate research or faculty recruitment, the annual grants given to Michigan State University by the MSU Research Foundation have been used to bolster MSU’s reputation as a world-class institution.
“The Foundation’s ongoing investment at MSU reaches all corners of the campus,” said David Washburn, Executive Director of the MSU Research Foundation, “and this flexible resource provides support to focus on new opportunities to create, learn and grow.”
The resources are spread across campus and are generally in line with strategic initiatives agreed upon by MSU executives and the MSU Research Foundation Board and include technology commercialization, entrepreneurship, faculty recruiting, faculty retention, strategic partnership grants and more. The grants are also tightly aligned with the strategic plan at Michigan State University.
[i] Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022
[ii] Global Ranking of Environmental Science & Engineering 2022
[iii] Global Ranking of Agricultural Sciences 2022