UND will be hiring five new faculty members who will be some of the top young researchers in their fields, thanks to $535,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation and the state.
"The best newly minted people, that's what we want to get," said Mark R. Hoffman, assistant vice president for research and economic development.
The money would let the new faculty equip labs and hire research assistants, among other things, right away, helping UND compete with other universities for the fresh talent, he said.
Top faculty would be a boon for UND, he said, because it tends to bring research grants. In the past 23 years that the funding program's been active in North Dakota, it has brought in at least $3 of federal funding for every $1 the state spends.
Called the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Researcher, or EPSCoR, the program directs federal grants to states, which then divvy up the money among their institutions. Different agencies, such as the Defense Department and the National Science Foundation, have their own EPSCoR.
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Hoffman is co-chairman of the state's EPSCoR steering committee.
He said the UND departments and colleges that would benefit include:
- The Biology Department, which is seeking an expert on grassland ecology.
- The College of Nursing, which is seeking an expert on the behavior of vulnerable populations subjected to life-changing events, such as an orphaned child.
- The Department of Microbiology and Immunology, which is seeking two experts, one in immune responses to viruses or bacteria and one in the evolution of diseases caused by viruses or bacteria.
- The Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Therapeutics, which is seeking an expert on molecular and genetic approaches to the study of the brain or the study of aging.
The department heads involved "want to amplify strength of the department or they wanted to fill some deficiency," Hoffman said. "Most of the time it's to build the strength of the department."
The announcement of the EPSCoR funding, he said, is coming at the start of the hiring cycle, so the departments are just beginning to advertise positions.
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The goal is to build a team of experts in a certain field, such as neurosciences, which would have multiple benefits, he said. Besides helping win federal grants and offering students chances to learn from the best, he said, faculty would benefit from having colleagues with similar interests nearby.
They're more effective in research, and it helps keep them from leaving for other universities, Hoffman said. In the past five years or so, the EPSCoR program has brought in 36 new faculty members statewide, he said, and 34 are still here.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
