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Chapter 46 Federal Research and Development in Utah • Approximately $377 million of federal R&D funds are spent each year in Utah. • Utah ranks 28th among the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in terms of the amount of federal R&D dollars received annually. • Approximately 9 percent of all federal funds spent in Utah each year on matters other than the direct support of individuals (i.e, such entitlements as retirement, disability, and housing assistance) is spent on R&D. DOD ~$219 million – Army Dugway Proving Ground – R&D contracts – Project grants Other ~$14 million – DOC, DOT, EPA, DVA, etc. AAAA AAAA AAAA AAAA AAAA AAA AAAA AAA AAAA AAA HHS ~$75 million – R&D contracts – Project grants NASA ~$12 million – R&D contracts – Project grants DOE ~$10 million – R&D contracts – Project grants – Cooperative agreements NSF ~$24 million – Project grants – Cooperative agreements USDA ~$15 million – Forage and

Range Research Lab – Logan Forestry Sciences Lab – Ogden Forestry Lab – Shrub Sciences Lab – Project grants DOI ~$9 million – Utah CFWRU – Canyonlands Field Station – St. George Field Station – Water Resources District Office – Project grants Figure 46.1 – Sources of Federal R&D Dollars Spent in Utah (Total Federal R&D ~$377 million) 529 530 DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION Background In recent years, the federal government has spent in the neighborhood of $377 million annually in Utah on research and development (R&D) activities. On average, federal R&D dollars account for approximately 9 percent of all federal funds spent in Utah each year on matters other than the direct support of individuals (i.e, such entitlements as retirement, disability, and housing assistance) Most major federal agencies that currently support federal R&D efforts provide funding for R&D activities in Utah. Foremost among these agencies are the Departments of

Defense (DOD) and Health and Human Services (HHS), which account for 58 and 20 percent of all federal R&D dollars spent in the state, respectively. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Energy (DOE) account for an additional 6, 4, 3, and 3 percent of the federal R&D dollars spent in Utah, respectively. The remaining federal R&D dollars come collectively from the Departments of Interior (DOI), Commerce (DOC), and Transportation (DOT) and several other federal agencies.46 All federal R&D dollars spent in Utah either cover the costs of operating federal R&D units in the state, including paying the salaries of federal R&D personnel working at these units, or are awarded as grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to entities in the state. The following is an overview of what becomes of these federal R&D dollars once they arrive in Utah.

Federal R&D Units in Utah Dugway, Utah, is home to DOD’s Dugway Proving Ground. • The Dugway Proving Ground is a unit of DOD’s U.S Army Materiel Command Test and Evaluation Command This facility is the site of field and laboratory tests evaluating the effectiveness of chemical weapons; chemical and biological defensive and 46 For a complete agency-by-agency breakdown of these R&D dollars, see Appendix C. FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN UTAH 531 protective systems; and smoke, obscurant, and illumination systems. Research includes the testing of chemical and biological survivability of defense materiel. This federal unit annually receives about $40 million of federal R&D funds, approximately $20 million of which are spent on in-house activities, and has about 437 personnel. Logan, Utah, is home to USDA’s Forage and Range Research Laboratory and Logan Forestry Sciences Laboratory and DOI’s Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. • The Forage and

Range Research Laboratory is a unit of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) on the Logan campus of Utah State University. The laboratory consists of three research divisions focusing on forage and range research, poisonous plant research, and pollinating insects. The research activities of this unit aim to broaden the genetic base of rangeland and pasture plants and develop methods for treating and reducing the effects of poisonous plant toxins in animals and humans. It also studies bee pollination. Specific research activities of this unit include identifying the molecular and quantitative genetics of grasses; studying the cytogenetics of forage and cereal germplasm; characterizing the pollination needs of threatened and endangered plants; and locoweed diagnostics, larkspur poisoning, pine needle abortive agents, and alkaloid analysis of other plant toxins. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $4.7 million of federal R&D funds and has about 46 FTEs.

• The Logan Forestry Sciences Laboratory is a unit of the Rocky Mountain Research Station inside USDA’s Forest Service. It conducts research on the restoration of ecosystems and insect ecology Specific research activities of this lab include research into restoring vegetation and studying forest bark beetles to minimize infestation. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $743,000 in federal R&D funds and has about 30 employees • The Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is part of DOI’s U.S Geological Survey (USGS) It is on the campus of 532 DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION Utah State University. It conducts research on habitat requirements and ecology of fish, birds, and terrestrial wildlife Specific research activities of this unit include the reintroduction of trumpeter swans to Utah; population and ecology of swift fox; aquatic habitat mapping; impact of introduction of lake trout; limnological effects of walleye production; and habitat

selection of cavity nesting birds. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $254,000 of federal R&D funds and has about three FTEs. Moab, Utah, is home to DOI’s Canyonlands Field Station. • The Canyonlands Field Station is a unit of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center inside DOI’s USGS. It conducts research to support management and conservation of forest and rangeland ecosystems in the Intermountain West. Generally, research topics of this unit include environmental physiology of fish and fish genetics, forest-wildlife relationships, wildlife population analysis, and environmental contaminants. Specific research activities of this unit include studies of desert soil ecology, invertebrates, and vascular plants. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $291,000 of federal R&D funds and has about five FTEs. Ogden, Utah, is home to USDA’s Ogden Forestry Laboratory. • The Ogden Forestry Laboratory is a unit of the Rocky

Mountain Research Station inside USDA’s Forest Service. It conducts research on forest management practices. Specific research activities of this laboratory include maintaining a comprehensive inventory of the status and trends of the use and health of forest ecosystems. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $18 million in federal R&D funds and has 55 employees Provo, Utah, is home to USDA’s Shrub Sciences Laboratory. • The Shrub Sciences Laboratory is a unit of the Rocky Mountain Research Station inside USDA’s Forest Service. It conducts research on shrubland biology and restoration Specific research FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN UTAH 533 activities of this lab include developing improved shrubs and production technology and management techniques to rehabilitate and improve wildlife habitats, rangelands, and disturbed lands in the intermountain west. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $882,000 in federal R&D funds

and has about 12 employees. Saint George, Utah, is home to DOI’s St. George Field Station • The St. George Field Station is a unit of the Western Ecological Research Center inside DOI’s USGS. It conducts research on the plants and animals that live at the geographic and physiological limits of the ecotone between the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran Deserts and are challenged by rapid urban growth. Specific research activities include studying the translocation, reproduction, density estimation, and monitoring of the desert tortoise; the effect of fire and invasive plants on Sonoran and Mojave Desert ecosystems; and the effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on Mojave Desert vegetation. This federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $244,000 of federal R&D funds and has about five FTEs. Salt Lake City, Utah, is home to a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) R&D unit. • While the principal focus of the VA Salt Lake City health care system facility, the

VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, is providing medical care to veterans, it is also the location of a number of research activities. In a recent year, this federally owned and operated facility was the site of 268 projects with total funding of approximately $3 million. These R&D activities focus on a wide range of topics, including geriatrics, arthritis, pacemakers, and heart transplantation. West Valley City, Utah, is home to DOI’s Utah District Office of Water Resources. • The Utah District Office of Water Resources is a unit of DOI’s USGS. It oversees the R&D activities of USGS’s National WaterQuality Assessment (NAWQA), Ground-Water Resources As- 534 DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION sessment, Toxic Substances Hydrology, and Federal State Cooperatives programs. The NAWQA program conducts research on the nation’s surface and groundwater resources to better understand the effect of pesticides, erosion, and bacterial contamination on water quality. The Ground-Water

Resources Assessment program studies groundwater systems to develop models and simulations to better understand the workings of these systems. The Toxic Substances Hydrology program studies the behavior of toxic substances in hydrologic environments. These research activities investigate subsurface contamination at local releases and aquatic ecosystem contamination on a watershed and regional scale. The Federal State Cooperatives program studies the effects of agricultural chemicals, floods, droughts, and waste disposal on water supply and groundwater quality. This federal unit annually receives approximately $1.5 million in federal R&D funds. Federal R&D Grants to Utah Entities Every major institution of higher education in Utah is the recipient of significant federal R&D dollars each year through grants made by federal agencies to faculty, graduate students, and research centers. The vast majority of the R&D grants are made by HHS, NSF, and DOD to individual faculty

members and therefore ultimately inure to the benefit of such institutions as the University of Utah, Utah State University (USU), and Brigham Young University (BYU). The table below shows the number of R&D grants active in FY 1998, highlighting those made by HHS, NSF, and DOD to parties at these institutions and estimates of the total dollars transferred to them in FY 1998 pursuant to the terms of these grants. Most of the grants in the “Other Agencies” category going to the University of Utah are from DOE ($2 million). The comparable grants going to USU include $3 million from USDA and $2 million from NASA. These activities are particularly significant because they fund much of the “basic research” so critical to expanding our knowledge and understanding of fundamental scientific phenomena. In addition, these FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN UTAH 535 Table 46.1 – Sources of Federal R&D Grants to Higher Education in Utah HHS NSF Institution Amount # U of

Utah USU BYU Other $71M $2M $1M <$1M 350 15 14 1 Total $75M 380 Amount Other Agencies DOD # Total Amount # Amount # Amount # $13M 185 $4M 67 $2M 34 2 <$1M $3M $1M <$1M $1M 24 8 4 2 $3M $6M $1M <$1M 78 179 12 1 $90M $14M $4M $1M 637 269 64 6 $19M 288 $5M 38 $11M 270 $110M 976 funds account for a substantial portion of the dollars available each year to various academic departments within these institutions, such as the School of Medicine at the University of Utah. Several other nonacademic institutions in Utah also receive federal R&D grants each year. Foremost among the institutions that received R&D grants in FY 1998 are LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City ($1 million), Cimarron Software, Inc., in Salt Lake City ($1 million), and Materials & Systems Research in Salt Lake City ($500,000) Scattered among these grants, as well as among the contracts discussed in the section below, are small business innovative research (SBIR) awards. These

are special awards made by the SBIR programs supported by the 10 federal agencies with annual budgets for extramural R&D of more than $100 million. In a recent year, small businesses in Utah received 43 SBIR awards totaling close to $9 million Examples include a $700,000 award from DOD (Air Force) to Cerebral Developments, Inc., in Ogden to define an unmanned vehiclebased digital cellular telephone payload system and a $700,000 award from HHS to Axon Medical, Inc., in Salt Lake City to study cardiac output monitoring from carbon dioxide rebreathing. Also included among these grants are formula grants from federal agencies. Formula grants differ from the much more common project grants in that the money transmitted through formula grants is allocated to a state or one of its subdivisions in accordance with a distribution formula prescribed by law or regulation. Among the formula grants benefiting Utah are ones valued at more than $1.8 million from USDA’s Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension Service 536 DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION (CSREES) to State Agricultural Experiment Stations, forestry schools, and veterinary colleges for the support of research in agriculture, forestry, and animal health and disease. Similarly, a modest formula grant goes from DOI’s USGS to the Water Resources Research Institute in Utah every year to foster research in water and water-related problems. Other Federal R&D Activities in Utah Several entities in Utah also receive notable sums in the form of contracts or cooperative agreements from federal agencies for specific R&D efforts. The majority of these funds go from DOD to L-3 Communications (formerly Lockheed Martin Wideband Systems), which in FY 1998 received close to $26 million from the Navy for work on Common High Bandwidth Data Link Systems and related services. In addition, Alliant Techsystems, Inc. ($25 million), Thiokol Corp ($2 million), Lockheed Martin ($2 million), Cerebral

Developments, Inc. ($1 million), and Reaction Engineering International ($1 million) received significant R&D contracts from federal agencies in FY 1998. Note that these amounts are in addition to any federal R&D grants also received by these companies. For example, Reaction Engineering International received close to $500,000 in R&D grants in FY 1998. USU ($25 million) and the U of Utah ($11 million) also receive contracts from various federal agencies to conduct R&D for the federal government. Although these amounts are notable, they do not come close to eclipsing the funds that these institutions receive from federal R&D grants. A total of $4 million of federal R&D dollars was also received in FY 1998 by entities located in Utah in the form of cooperative agreements. The largest of these cooperative agreements ($1 million in FY 1998) came from DOE to Novatek in Provo, for work on an advanced, integrated, steerable, oil and gas drilling system. Other federal

agencies awarding cooperative agreements to Utah-based entities include DOC, USDA, and NSF. Among these latter cooperative agreements is an award supporting one of NSF’s Science and Technology Centersthe Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization at the University of Utah