About EPSCoR
Oklahoma EPSCoR
415 Whitehurst Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Ph: 405.744.9964
Fax: 405.744.7698
Email: gmiller@okepscor.org
The Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (OK EPSCoR) was established by the National Science Foundation in 1985 to strengthen Oklahoma’s exploration and growth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Oklahoma EPSCoR’s central goal is to increase the state’s research competitiveness through strategic support of research instruments and facilities, research collaborations, and integrated education and research programs.
The national NSF EPSCoR program is designed to benefit states, including Oklahoma, that have historically received lesser amounts of competitive research and development funding. Twenty-seven states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are currently eligible to participate.
EPSCoR provides support for key research areas at Oklahoma’s public universities, while also establishing partnerships with higher education, government and industry to effect lasting progress in the state’s research infrastructure, research and development capacity, and R&D competitiveness. The goal is to stimulate lasting research infrastructure improvements in Oklahoma.
NSF awarded OK EPSCoR $15 million in 2008 for the program’s Research Infrastructure and Improvement Plan: “Building Oklahoma’s Leadership Role in Cellulosic Bioenergy.” NSF grant award number EPS-0814361 began September 1, 2008, and continues for five years. EPSCoR researchers are working to develop an efficient alternative fuel from switchgrass.
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education has matched the NSF award with an additional $5.5 million in funding to further support biofuels research and educational outreach programs throughout Oklahoma.
Oklahoma EPSCoR State Advisory Committee
In July 2000, the Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Advisory Committee was codified by statute as an advisory committee to the State Regents. The committee, which is chaired by the chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, is made up of esteemed members of business, government and academia. The purpose of the committee is to promote cooperative research efforts among public and private universities in Oklahoma; promote private sector involvement in university research and encourage technology transfer; promote human resource development in science and engineering within the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education; recommend research projects when only a limited number may be submitted by the State of Oklahoma; and appoint the EPSCoR director.
Click here to access the list of EPSCoR State Advisory Committee members.
Oklahoma EPSCoR External Advisory Board
The State EPSCoR Advisory Committee has appointed an External Advisory Board (EAB) for the Bioenergy theme area on the recommendation of the Executive Committee. The EAB consists of four discipline-specific experts from out-of-state universities and federal laboratories. EAB members are: Larry Walker, professor, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Bioprocessing Engineering, Cornell University; Terry Hazen, head, Ecology Department, and DOE Distinguished Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; John Mullet, professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and director of the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University; and Kerry Dooley, professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University.
The EAB has been tasked with meeting twice during the first year of the program and at least once a year thereafter. The EAB conducts a technical and scientific review of the EPSCoR program at least once a year. Their review is based in part on research milestones and may include recommendations to the EC, the project director and the State EPSCoR Advisory Committee on the redirection or elimination of project aims and funds. In addition to their oversight responsibility, the EAB members also serve as an important resource for scientific, technical and management support.
For more information about EPSCoR programs, contact Gina Miller, outreach coordinator, at gmiller@okepscor.org or call 405.744.9964.
