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PROVO -- Utah's Brigham Young University is nurturing a scientific community of both graduate and undergraduate students that is pushing cutting-edge research and helping foster a new generations of scientists.
In doing so, the university has been catching the eye of the federal government, which has increased grant offerings over the years.
The university has seen more funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other grants.
As we continue to hire a lot of talented young faculty from around the country, we expect these awards to continue.
–Michael Smart
"Twenty years ago I think there was very little federal funding coming into the university," electro-engineering researcher Brian Jensen tells the Deseret News. "Whereas now if you look at this department ... for example, we are averaging about $3 million to $5 million of research a year, which is much, much higher than we would have been 20 years ago."
Jensen is one of five BYU scientists who in the past few years have earned one of NSF's top awards. The CAREER award is given to the most promising junior, non-tenured, researchers in the nation. The award recognizes outstanding research and honors scholars who are considered dedicated teachers. The awards come with five-year grants of up to $650,000.
"This National Science Foundation funding will allow me to support more graduate and undergraduate students in doing the research, and that's important because that's a vital part of their education," Jensen said.
And researchers say it's exactly that sort of thinking, combining research with teaching, that is helping to put BYU on the scientific community map.
"I'm integrating so much research into my teaching, and helping students understand not just the nuts and bolts of a particular discipline, but here is how the process of discovery works," said Joel Griffitts, who has a doctorate degree in microbiology.
Griffitts, also a CAREER award winner, is researching relationships between bacteria and plants. He has been looking at how certain plants actually cultivate "friendly" bacteria and how plants such as alfalfa, soybeans and peanuts, benefit from the nitrogen fertilizer the bacteria produce.
He's hoping to discover the genetic triggers that cause bacteria to become helpful to plants, and that could lead to them producing their own fertilizer, without the need for petroleum-based nitrogen.
Griffitts also spends time teaching high school students about science and says his emphasis on sharing education is critical to show young students that entering into complex scientific research is possible and interesting.
Over the last decade, the number of BYU's federal grants for science has grown tremendously, said BYU spokesman Michael Smart.
"As we continue to hire a lot of talented young faculty from around the country, we expect these awards to continue," he said.
"It's great for the students. It means they get a better education," Jensen added. "I personally just love the feeling that I'm learning new things, discovering new things, and coming to a new realization of how the world works."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
