Competitive Awards

Researchers in the College of Agricultural Sciences are awarded competitive grants to support collaborative projects that bring together investigators across Penn State, the nation, and the globe.

  • The college administered a total of $98 million in extramural competitive grants.
  • Grants awarded from federal agencies accounted for approximately 79 percent of total awards.
  • The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation are the college’s largest sponsors.
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Department of Agriculture Other USDA Agencies Department of Health Gates Foundation PA Soybean Board PA Wine Marketing and Research Board SHAP 24 Other Sponsors 108 Industry Sponsors Mondalez Global BAM Techmologies 15 Other Foundations 18 Other Federal Agencies 79% 7% 6% 4% 4% National Institutes of Health National Science Foundation Federal Agencies Industry Nonprofit Foundations Commodity and Interest Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Sponsors of Competitive Grants for Fiscal Year 2018/2019

Award Highlights

College of Agricultural Sciences faculty and graduate students were recognized for their outstanding research with major competitive extramural grants and fellowships.

Water for Ag

An interdisciplinary team that brings together rural sociology, soil science, biogeochemistry, and law was awarded $7.2 million by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop a model that engages communities and stakeholders to ensure good-quality water both for and from agriculture. Read more.

 

Food-Energy-Water Graduate Training

A $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) was awarded to an interdisciplinary team in the College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Earth and Mineral Sciences to create a new graduate program. Landscape-U will use regenerative landscape design to address complex, landscape-scale challenges. Read more.

 

Robotic Frost Protection

The National Science Foundation Cyber-Physical Systems program awarded a team $843,000 to develop a system that helps tree fruit growers avoid frost damage to their crops by using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ground-based robots. The team combines disciplines across agricultural engineering, horticulture, pomology, and mechanical engineering. Read more.

 

Graduate Training

In the 2018–2019 academic year, seventy graduate students were awarded competitive fellowships or grants from a wide array of sponsors, including USDA NIFA, NSF, National Institutes of Health, and the Fulbright program.

Research Report 

At a Glance

Return to the landing page for the overview of the College’s research report.

Research Expenditures

View a comparative summary of expenditures over the past five years.

Federal & State Appropriations

View a breakdown of the source of appropriated funds to the college.