UT showed an upward trend in federal award amounts with the US Department of Energy, US Department of Defense, and National Science Foundation showing continued stability through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2019 (Q1-Q3 FY19). 

The university received the highest ever award amount from the DOE in Q1-Q3 FY19 as compared to the first three quarters of previous years. During this time, 68% of our award amount came from federal agencies and DOE contributed 51% or $38.8 million.  Continue reading →

The university continues to show an upward trend in proposal submissions through the first two quarters of fiscal year 2019 (Q1–Q2 FY19), with an increase of 1% over this time last year. However, the total proposal amount requested is down 27% compared to the first two quarters of fiscal year 2018 (Q1–Q2).

The Office of Research and Engagement attributes this decline to fewer proposal submissions to the National Science Foundation (NSF) programs. NSF eliminated proposal deadlines for the majority of its programs beginning in 2018 in an attempt to reduce the burden of the grant review system on its staff and outside researchers. NSF piloted the no-deadline policy starting with a limited number of its programs within the Geosciences directorate and noticed that the number of proposals declined by half in several programs within this directorate following the implementation of this procedure. Continue reading →

After a record year for total research expenditures in fiscal year 2018 (FY18), the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 (Q1 FY19), looks strong. The current estimate of the FY19 Total Research Expenditures (TREs) is $50 million, an increase of 16% over the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 (FY18).  This increase is based on the efforts of our many talented faculty and our internal efforts to accurately capture the institutional contributions to research.
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Proposal Submissions

In the fiscal year 2018 (FY18) the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) submitted 1,764 proposals representing a 2% increase over the number of proposals submitted in the previous fiscal year (FY17) and a 3% increase above the five-year average number of proposals submitted in the last five fiscal years (FY14-FY18). The total dollar value of the submitted proposals was $611 million signifying a 9% increase over the amount requested in FY17.

Several colleges have contributed to the increase in the total requested amount. College of Nursing (Nur) requested the largest amount in its history ($16 million) and more than doubled the amount it requested in FY17 reflecting 122% increase in FY18. Other colleges that displayed slight to significant increases in FY18 versus FY17 amounts were College of Architecture and Design (A&D) with 46% increase, A&S – 2% increase, College of Communication and Information (C&I) – 105% increase, TCE – 12% increase, RCI- 54% increase, and the UT Space Institute (UTSI) – 12% increase.

Looking at the colleges and centers, Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) requested the largest share – 40% of the total proposal amount – followed by the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and Research Centers and Institutes (RCI) both requesting 23% each.

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The research enterprise at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, achieved significant increases in several performance metrics in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017. Award dollars increased by 8 percent over FY16 and total research expenditures (TREs) increased by 11 percent.

The TREs in FY17 were $203 million, the largest amount in UT’s history. This benchmark amount reflects increases in institutional research funds, federal research expenditures (FREs), and UT’s business enterprise.

UT’s largest federal funder in FY17 was the Department of Energy, largely due to participation in IACMI–The Composites Institute. IACMI accounted for $21.6 million of the $22 million cost share reported by the UT Research Foundation and is the primary source of the increase in FY17 TREs.
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