WMU Home > WMU News

WMU News

WMU News on Twitter

WMU tallies $6.5 million in grants over two months

April 16, 2010

KALAMAZOO--Grants to Western Michigan University hit nearly $6.5 million during the months of February and March, WMU trustees learned at their April 15 meeting. The $6,496,123 total brought the year-to-date amount of externally funded awards to nearly $27.3 million for the fiscal year, which began July 1.

Research grants accounted for more than $2 million, with notable awards coming from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NSF award was for $212,527 and went to Dr. Sherine Obare, associate professor of chemistry, and is through the CAREER program for young faculty who demonstrate promise in advancing their research fields. It will allow Obare to develop nano-scale materials that will impact solar energy storage and solar energy conversion, as well as impact the treatment of organic pollutants common in groundwater. Obare and Dr. Leonard C. Ginsberg, professor of biological sciences, also received an $85,377 award from HHS to help train and interest community college students for careers in biomedical and behavioral sciences.  

Another HHS grant, for $185,623 was to Dr. Pamela Hoppe, assistant professor of biological sciences to investigate the role of ordered arrays of filaments in muscle contraction, with her studies in nematodes revealing the role of a particular enzyme.

Public service grants combined for a little more than $1 million, with the largest award a nearly $800,000 supplemental grant from Kalamazoo Community Mental Health Services to Dr. Carol Sundberg, director of the Center for Disability Services, to provide daily living, communication, behavior control and social skill services to adults with developmental disabilities. Grants for academic support totaled $191,215.

Share |

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/news