UC Berkeley research garners nearly $65 million in federal stimulus money

BERKELEY — President Barack Obama's stimulus package is already stimulating innovation and jobs at the University of California, Berkeley, with more than 130 projects underway. The work is being funded by nearly $65 million in new money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). UC Berkeley's share of ARRA funds is just a small part of some $21.5 billion promised nationwide to science research, equipment and construction – news highlighted this week by the launch of ScienceWorksForUS . The Web site was created by the American Association of Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and The Science Coalition, which together represent more than 200 of the nation’s leading academic research institutions. So far, the ARRA funds awarded to UC Berkeley come primarily from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with one grant each from the Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey. "These extra research funds are a big plus for the campus, enhancing its research agenda and allowing us to hire additional students, post-doctoral fellows and technicians," said Mark Schlissel, professor of molecular and cell biology and dean of the biological sciences in UC Berkeley's College of Letters and Science. "The majority of the stimulus money supplements existing programs, which have already been vetted and reviewed.