Chapter 16
Federal Research and Development
in Iowa
• Approximately $252 million of federal R&D funds are spent each year in
Iowa.
• Iowa ranks 35th among the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico in terms of the amount of federal R&D dollars received annually.
• Approximately 6 percent of all federal funds spent in Iowa 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.
Other
~$13 million
– DOC, DOI,
EPA, DVA, etc.
DOT
~$9 million
– R&D contracts
– Project grants
–
–
–
–
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DOD
~$31 million
– R&D contracts
– Project grants
USDA
~$48 million
ARS Research
Facility at
Iowa State
University
Nat’l Animal
Disease Ctr.
NSF
Nat’l Soil Tilth Lab
~$15 million
Project grants – Project grants
– Cooperative agreements
HHS
~$95 million
– Project grants
NASA
~$8 million
– R&D contracts
– Project grants
DOE
~$34 million
– Ames Lab
– R&D contracts
– Project grants
– Cooperative agreements
Figure 16.1 – Sources of Federal R&D Dollars Spent in Iowa
(Total Federal R&D ~$252 million)
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DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
Background
In recent years, the federal government has spent in the neighborhood of $252 million annually in Iowa on research and development
(R&D) activities. On average, federal R&D dollars account for approximately 6 percent of all federal funds spent in Iowa 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 Iowa. Foremost among
these agencies is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
which accounts for 38 percent of all federal R&D dollars spent in the
state. The Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Energy (DOE), and
Defense (DOD) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) account
for an addition 19, 14, 12, and 6 percent of all federal R&D dollars
spent in Iowa, respectively. The remaining federal R&D dollars come
collectively from the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and several
other federal agencies.16
All federal R&D dollars spent in Iowa 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 Iowa.
Federal R&D Units in Iowa
Ames, Iowa, is home to DOE’s Ames Laboratory; the Department of
Interior’s (DOI) Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; and
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Research Facility at Iowa
State University, National Animal Disease Center, and National Soil
Tilth Laboratory.
• Ames Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by DOE and operated by Iowa
16 For
a complete agency-by-agency breakdown of these R&D dollars, see Appendix C.
FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN IOWA 203
State University. It conducts research on materials sciences,
high-performance computing, and environmental science and
management efforts. The laboratory seeks solutions to
energy-related problems through the exploration of physics,
chemistry, engineering, applied mathematics, and materials sciences. Recent research investigated ways to make parallel computing accessible and cost-effective and conducted geometric
modeling to improve the efficiency of lasers and sensing devises.
This federally owned and contractor-operated laboratory annually receives approximately $24 million of core funding and
conducts an estimated $20 million of specific R&D projects.
The laboratory has about 500 employees. A portion of the laboratory’s funds is spent on the maintenance and operation of
R&D equipment and facilities.
• The Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is part of
DOI’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is on the campus of
Iowa State University. It conducts research on the ecosystems of
the Missouri River, Mississippi River, and northwest wetlands.
Specific research activities of this unit include studies on the migrations of snow geese, canvasbacks, and other waterfowl in
these ecosystems. Wildlife studies emphasize wetland ecology
and agricultural effects on wildlife species and habitats. This
federal R&D unit annually receives approximately $236,000 in
federal R&D funds and has about three FTEs.
• The ARS Research Facility at Iowa State University, is a unit of
USDA’s ARS. This facility comprises two research divisions
focusing on corn insects and crop genetics and plant introduction. One division investigates ways to manage pests and improve germplasm of corn, soybeans, and cereals. Specific research activities of this division include studying molecular
biology and biochemistry of grain quality in maize and mapping
the soybean genome. The other division conducts germplasmrelated research and encourages the use of germplasm and associated information for research, crop improvement, and product development. Specific research activities of this division
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DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
include improving the quality of germplasm maintenance. This
federal R&D unit, together with the National Animal Disease
Center and the National Soil Tilth Laboratory described immediately below, annually receives approximately $26.7 million of
federal R&D funds and has about 347 FTEs.
• The National Animal Disease Center is a unit of USDA’s ARS located on the campus of Iowa State University. It consists of six
research divisions focusing on avian and swine respiratory diseases, enteric diseases and food safety, metabolic disease and immunology, respiratory and neurologic disease, swine virology,
and zoonotic diseases. One division develops methods for disease prevention and diagnosis to reduce poultry and swine bacterial and fungal disease, focusing on developing vaccines and
immunodiagnostic test procedures. Three other divisions investigate bacterial and viral enteric pathogens and host immune
responses related to economically significant diseases of cattle
and swine; conduct research on metabolic diseases and immunology in dairy cattle; and study the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases of cattle, sheep, and goats. Two other divisions
conduct research on viruses associated with economically important diseases of swine to develop methods by which such diseases can be controlled or eradicated, and the diagnosis of leptospirosis in cattle and swine using serologic, microbiologic, and
biotechnologic methods. The funding and staffing information for this federal R&D unit are included in those presented
immediately above for the ARS Research Facility.
• The National Soil Tilth Laboratory is a unit of USDA’s ARS located on the campus of Iowa State University. It consists of two
research divisions focusing on agricultural land management
and soil and water quality. It conducts quantitative research on
soil biological, chemical, and physical processes and their interaction as related to agricultural practices. Specific research activities of this laboratory include a study on the soils, geologic
materials, aquifers, and hydrologic conditions surrounding 34
representative lagoons and basins in Iowa and a study that de-
FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN IOWA 205
fines the distribution, by hydrologic unit, of major sources,
dominant losses, and immobilized nitrogen attributable to agriculture. The funding and staffing information for this federal
R&D unit are included in those presented above for the ARS
Research Facility.
Iowa City, Iowa, is home to DOI’s Iowa District Office of Water Resources and a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) R&D unit.
• The Iowa District Office of Water Resources is a unit of DOI’s
USGS. It oversees the R&D activities of USGS’s National
Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA), Ground-Water Resources Assessment, 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.
• While the principal focus of the Iowa City VA Medical Center 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 254 projects with
total funding of approximately $5 million. These R&D activities focus on a wide range of topics, including diabetes, neoplasms, gene expression regulation, drug therapy, and alcoholism.
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DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
Federal R&D Grants to Iowa Entities
Every major institution of higher education in Iowa 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 USDA to
individual faculty members and therefore ultimately inure to the benefit of such institutions as the University of Iowa, Iowa State University,
and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). The table below shows
the number of R&D grants active in FY 1998, highlighting those
made by HHS, NSF, and USDA to parties at the various institutions
and estimates of the total dollars transferred to them in FY 1998 pursuant to the terms of these grants. Among the grants in the “Other
Agencies” category going to the University of Iowa are ones from
NASA ($5 million), DOD ($3 million), and DOE ($2 million). The
comparable grants going to Iowa State include $3 million from DOE
and close to $1 million each from EPA and NASA.
Table 16.1 – Sources of Federal R&D Grants to Higher Education in Iowa
HHS
Institution
Amount
U of Iowa
Iowa State
UNI
Other
Total
NSF
Other
Agencies
USDA
Amount
#
Amount
Total
#
Amount
#
#
$94M
$10M
$1M
$2M
427
31
3
11
$7M
$8M
<$1M
<$1M
144
157
1
7
<$1M
6
$11M 391
<$1M
3
<$1M
3
$11M
$6M
<$1M
<$1M
93
58
3
8
$106M
472
$15M
309
$11M 403
$17M
162
Amount
$112M
$34M
$1M
$2M
#
670
637
10
29
$149M 1,346
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
funds account for a substantial portion of the dollars available each
year to various academic departments within these institutions.
Several other nonacademic institutions in Iowa also receive federal
R&D grants each year. Foremost among the institutions that received
FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN IOWA 207
R&D grants in FY 1998 are the Krell Institute in Ames ($2 million),
the Iowa State Department of Human Services in Des Moines ($1
million), the Mercy Foundation in Des Moines ($1 million), and Bioforce Laboratory, Inc., in Ames ($1 million).
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 Iowa received six SBIR awards totaling close to $600,000.
Examples include a $200,000 award from EPA to Brimstone Pipe Co.
in Johnston to develop manufacturing methods for sulfur concrete
sewer pipe and a $100,000 award from the Air Force to Etrema Products, Inc., in Ames for work on an integrated electric actuator application to flight control technology.
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 Iowa are ones valued at more than $5.8 million from
USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
(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 Iowa every year to foster research in water and water-related problems.
Other Federal R&D Activities in Iowa
Several entities in Iowa also receive notable sums in the form of
contracts or cooperative agreements from federal agencies for specific
R&D efforts. By far the majority of these funds go to Rockwell International Corp., which in FY 1998 received close to $50 million from
DOD for work on such efforts as providing jam-resistant data termi-
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DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
nals for Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) and
producing lightweight precision GPS receivers for the Air Force. In addition, the Iowa State Department of Public Health ($1 million), Act,
Inc. ($600,000), and Metal Tech Industries ($500,000) received significant R&D contracts from federal agencies in FY 1998. The University of Iowa ($16 million) and Iowa State University ($9 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 $92 million of federal R&D dollars was also received in
FY 1998 by entities located in Iowa in the form of cooperative agreements. By far the largest of these cooperative agreements ($87 million
in FY 1998) came from DOE to Midwest Power Systems, Inc., in Des
Moines for work on innovative clean coal technology. Other federal
agencies awarding cooperative agreements to Iowa-based entities include DOD and USDA.