Pumping funds into new faculty and facilities, George Mason University has undertaken an ambitious campaign to ramp up its research capabilities.
“The expansion into research is something that’s been evolving over the past 10 to 15 years,” said Provost Peter Stearns. “Be we certainly are increasing our efforts.”
GMU hopes to expand its research in the fields of neuroscience, public policy, computer science, earth observation and medically related biology, he said.
He said the university plans to progressively increase the number of research faculty and research-focused regular faculty. Also, the school is finishing its first dedicated research building, for now known unceremoniously as “Research 1,” and is planning further science facility expansions at both its Fairfax and Manassas campuses.
“We’ll push this as far and as fast as we can,” Stearns said.
But GMU is not there yet, said Jennifer Murphy, the university’s assistant vice president for research and economic development.
For example, George Mason lagged behind the University of Virginia in recent funding from the National Science Foundation, a government agency that doles out federal dollars for research. The NSF is among GMU’s targets for grants, Murphy said.
“We’re very, very dependent on outside sources” for funding, she said.
Funding for research has steadily grown at GMU, Stearns said, increasing about 15 percent to 20 percent a year until lastyear. He said the university has about $75 million in funded research this year.
