University of Idaho is getting big funding to think small in 2015. Thanks to recent funding, UI scientists will soon be better equipped to study chemistry at a molecular level using specialized, and expensive, new equipment.
University of Idaho researchers, led by UI chemistry professor Richard V. Williams, have received nearly $.5M from two donors to purchase nuclear magnetic resonance equipment, or NMR.
The grant includes $360K from MJ Murdock Charitable Trust plus $100K from alumnus John S. Townsend, and will go towards NMR research equipment that uses a powerful super-conducting magnet to determine molecular properties. The NMR will be installed on campus in April.
According to a university press release, the NMR fills a vital need for researchers in the UI Department of Chemistry and other departments across the university.
“It is the preeminent instrument used in chemistry for structure determination, which is important in every branch of science,” Williams said.
The NMR works by characterizing compounds that may be in the creation of cancer-fighting drugs, as well as a host of other applications in the fields of geology; plant, soil and entomological sciences; forest, rangeland and fire sciences; and chemical engineering.
UI was also granted and additional $38,000 to seed new research projects and give new users access to the NMR. Researchers can use these funds to purchase supplies needed to take advantage of the instrument’s power.
“The generosity of the Murdock Charitable Trust, Mr. Townsend and other donors has enabled the university to make this important investment for our present and future research,” said Jack McIver, UI vice president for research and economic development. “This new equipment allows researchers across campus, working both in their fields and in interdisciplinary teams, to explore the molecular structure of materials at a more detailed level than ever before at the University of Idaho.”
In addition to garnering recent funding for cutting-edge technology, the University of Idaho makes use of millions of dollars every year to purchase new biotech and lab supplies. As the state’s leading research institution, UI is in a unique position to take advantage of the majority of state funding for science research, as well as procuring millions annually in private donations. *NMR image by Lihan Yao via Wikimedia Commons
Some other recent examples of University of Idaho life science funding include:
- The University of Idaho plans to construct a $50 million Integrated Research and Innovation Center beginning in July with anticipated completion in 2016.
- The University of Idaho received a $20 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the changing climate in the Pacific Northwest.
- Grants totaling $80 million for biofuel research were given to the University of Idaho, University of Washington and Washington State University.
- This past year the university generated more than $89 million in research funding, an increase of 7.5 percent over the prior year.
- Research funding generated by the University of Idaho constitutes about 74 percent of all research funding earned by Idaho public universities.
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