History of Oklahoma EPSCoR Funding

The Oklahoma National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR program, established in 1985, helps build the research competitiveness of Oklahoma's universities through strategic support of research instruments and facilities, research collaborations, integrated education and research programs, and high-performance computer networks.

The 2008-2013 NSF EPSCoR award (NSF Grant No. EPS-0814361) is in the form of a five year, $15 million Research Infrastructure Improvement Cooperative Agreement, which has been matched by the State Regents with an additional $5.5 million. 

The 2008-2013 award's scientific theme area is biofuels.  Exploration and awareness of biofuel research and STEM occupations in Oklahoma are promoted through the award.  A robust educational outreach component has been designed to broaden Oklahoman's participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in the state. 

Past OK EPSCoR research theme areas have included nanotechnology, plant virus biodiversity and ecology, and others.

The success of the NSF EPSCoR program has led to the development of six other EPSCoR programs within federal agencies. They include DOD, DOE, EPA, NASA, NIH and USDA.

NSF EPSCoR awards have aided in the development of research groups or centers, including Bioenergy Research Group, Plant Virus Ecology Network (PVEN), Nanoscale Materials Science and Engineering, the Oklahoma Network for Nanostructured Materials (NanoNet), the Functional Genomics Resources Consortium, the Oklahoma Biotechnology Network, the Center for Environmental Applications of the Oklahoma Mesonet and the Center for Photonic and Electronic Materials and Devices. 

For information on past OK EPSCoR programs and information, you may access our archived Web pages.