BOONE – Appalachian State University has received more than $552,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support six projects, four of which were research projects funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF). Appalachian also has submitted proposals for another $6.5 million in stimulus funding for additional projects related to economic growth and stability.

The university’s funded projects range from environmental research to initiatives that support economic development in a 14-county region of North Carolina.

“Most people associate stimulus funding with direct workforce creation, but the ARRA also funds projects related to technological advances, environmental protection and other purposes that can lead to long-term economic benefits,” said Susan McCracken, Appalachian’s director of sponsored programs. Her office coordinates all grants, contracts and cooperative agreements Appalachian faculty members receive for their scholarly work.

McCracken said the number of federal grant proposals submitted by Appalachian faculty has increased 25 percent compared to this time last year and the dollar amounts requested has increased by 97 percent.

External research funds contribute significantly to North Carolina’s economy,  says Dr. Todd Cherry, director of Appalachian’s Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis and associate professor of economics. The center is conducting a study to estimate the economic impacts of research activities across the UNC System on the state’s economy.

“When universities secure external research funding, they bring in economic activity that wouldn’t come into the state otherwise.  Preliminary results from our work show that external research funding at our public universities generates jobs and incomes to the point that it covers the state’s initial investment in university research and graduate programs,” Cherry said.

Appalachian’s ARRA-funded projects

The ARRA covers five purposes: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize state and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.

Appalachian’s funded projects and dollar amounts are:

$182,953 – Research into the relationship between the growth of the ponderosa pine and Douglas fir and the rise in carbon dioxide in the Northern Rockies, by Dr. Peter T. Soulé in the Department of Geography and Planning; NSF funded.

$145,935 – Research into topography and vegetation at Bent Creek Experimental Forest and Grandfather Ranger District, both located in Pisgah National Forest, by Dr. Ryan Emanuel in the Department of Geology; NSF funded.

$79,959 – Research to evaluate the downstream impact of the fly ash spill from Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston, Tenn., coal-fired power plant in December 2008, and to provide data and predictions of how best to rehabilitate the site, by Dr. Roy Sidle of the Department of Geology. Drs. Chris Thaxton, Carol Babyak and Ellen Cowan are also working on this project; NSF funded.

$77,910 – Creation of 43 additional work-study positions for students, at an average award of $1,800 per student.

$65,341 – Hiring of additional personnel in the Appalachian-Foothills Regional Service Center of the N.C. Small Business and Technology Development Center hosted by Walker College of Business. The center supports economic development in a 14-county region of North Carolina.

$43,495 – Acquisition of a cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy system for Appalachian’s Optical Petrography Lab to investigate mineral precipitation around plants in wetland environments and to determine whether groundwater has interacted with sediment samples prior to chemical analysis, by Drs. Sarah Carmichael and Cynthia Liutkus in the Department of Geology; NSF funded.

Future ARRA projects

Appalachian has a number of proposed projects for ARRA funding. They include the following:

• install solar thermal systems in campus buildings

• purchase additional instrumentation to enhance atmospheric research at the Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research (AppalAIR) program
• research methane production by microorganisms in peat bogs in the southern Appalachian mountains

• develop training curricula for families and professionals involved in early childhood intervention through Appalachian Family Innovations

• renovate the Department of Biology’s greenhouse complex on campus

• begin advanced use of the university’s scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)

• purchase a new telescope system for research and teaching at Appalachian’s Dark Sky Observatory (DSO) that is usable by astronomers worldwide through the Internet

Appalachian should receive confirmation of these proposed projects within the next three to six months, according to McCracken.

For more information about Appalachian’s ARRA initiatives, contact Susan McCracken at mccrackensd@appstate.edu or 828-262-2130.

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