Transportation grant boosts research and image at YSU

The recent announcement that Youngstown State University will receive the first of four annual $430,000 grants from the federal government to launch a University Transportation Center elicits pride and optimism.
In itself, the grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, is impressive for it shows that the federal government entrusts important research and development activity to the faculty and students of the Mahoning Valley's largest institution of higher education.
The grant to YSU's Rayen College of Engineering and Technology also serves as a microcosm of the rapidly increasing quantity and quality of scholarly research at the university.
The grant, one of four awarded by DOT through the assistance of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, will enable the college to expand its focus on materials research, particularly in road building materials.
At a time when transportation issues -- the rising cost of gasoline, the maintenance of our aging interstate highway system, the need for more creative ways to move Americans from point A to point B -- are arousing considerable attention, such research is critical. YSU faculty and students may well offer the federal government valuable ideas and advice on this public policy priority.
Larger benefits of research
The grant also reflects an ongoing expansion of research at YSU. In 1995, for example, the university landed a total of $738,000 in outside funds for research. Such funding has expanded about six-fold over the past decade to more than $4 million annually. That increase benefits the university in its finances, its academics and its image.
Today, as public universities are losing increasingly large chunks of state financial support, receipt of private and other outside funding takes on added importance. Without such funding, faculty and students would be denied valuable research opportunities.
On the academic front, YSU rightly remains primarily a teaching-focused university. Nonetheless, teaching and research go hand in hand. More research projects bring more opportunities for faculty, staff and students to apply practical and creative concepts to classroom pedagogy.
Too, the surge in research grants at YSU enhances its overall reputation. Expanded research embellishes the prestige of the university and puts it and its faculty in national and international spotlights.
For example, thanks to grant funding, Dr. James Carroll, a professor of physics, has won international acclaim for his work in nuclear physics and isotopes. Thanks to grant funding, chemistry professor Dr. Allen Hunter has completed cutting-edge research in chemistry and cybertechnology that he, too, is sharing far and wide.
And close to home, thanks to grant funding, YSU's Center for Working Class Studies has evolved into an enriching academic program. And thanks to grant funding administered by YSU, a Weed and Seed program has worked to reduce crime and to increase the quality of life in targeted inner-city Youngstown neighborhoods.
The growth and diversity in research and program grants are partly attributable to the university's proactive commitment to such funding opportunities. The Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs, directed by Dr. Ed Orona, coordinates pre-grant applications, provides support for those seeking research grants and tracks expenditures for those grants.
As long as YSU continues its aggressive pursuit of grants for research and other uses, the benefits are bound to multiply for the university, its faculty and students.