1. Possible Impacts of 2015 America COMPETES Act on Oklahoma EPSCoR
Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier Vice President for Research Regents’ Professor University of Oklahoma Dr. Jerry Malayer, Director Oklahoma EPSCoR Professor & Associate Dean Oklahoma State University

2. EPSCoR Program
EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
EPSCoR was created at NSF in 1980 to help prevent undue geographic concentration in research funding (Oklahoma joined in 1985)
Several agencies have joined since then (see below)
31 states (jurisdictions) are eligible for EPSCoR funding
Total budget today at NSF is ~ $180M

3. Currently Active EPSCoR Awards in Oklahoma
Total Active Awards = $77.2M
(roughly half of Federal obligations in science and engineering to
Oklahoma educational institutions in FY10)

4. Impact of EPSCoR in Oklahoma
Track-1 RII grants have created 18 new faculty positions at OU and OSU
Nanotechnology research underpinned growth of > 20 companies
119 other technologies and 17 high-tech start-ups created
New high-speed Internet access
Severe weather technology private sector growth > 40% in 3 years
Radiation dosimeter device has generated more than $108M in revenue
More than 34,000 students, teachers, faculty impacted by EPSCoR outreach

5. EPSCoR Program Funding Contributions
AGENCY
REGENTS
UNIVERSITY
TOTAL
NSF
$64,296,440
$26,339,442
$3,836,437
$94,138,986
IDeA
$280,139,402
$3,850,270
$283,989,672
NASA
$12,828,320
$6,157,931
$5,130,811
$24,117,062
DOE
$5,910,697
$1,050,000
$2,210,606
$9,171,303
DEPSCoR
$21,217,309
$6,659,687
$5,035,260
$32,912,256
EPA
$713,779
$580,999
$169,988
$1,464,766
$385,105,947
$44,638,329
$16,383,102
$445,794,045
100%

6. Potential Impact of 2015 COMPETES Act Authorization on Oklahoma EPSCoR
The 2015 House of Representatives’ America COMPETES Act authorizes a deep cut to the NSF Office of Integrative and International Activities, within which the NSF EPSCoR Office is housed
The cut is 11.2% below the FY15 Enacted Budget
The cut is 17.8% below the FY16 Request
These cuts could mean the loss of millions of dollars in NSF EPSCoR funding to Oklahoma
EPSCoR is about OKLAHOMA, as well as OSU and OU

7. Other Concerns about COMPETES Act Authorization
Removing from NSF & the community the ability to set research priorities via authorizing funding by research directorate
8% cut to the Geosciences, and 45% cut to the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorates, which will greatly slow research on tornado prediction and eviscerate efforts to develop better warning strategies for the public
Substantial cuts to the Graduate Research Fellowship program, which brings the best graduate students to OU and OSU
Significant cuts to the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, upon which OU and OSU rely to purchase large pieces of equipment for research, frequently leading to patents and licensing to commercial companies