UC President Mark Yudof was among leaders of six research universities who met with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday (Sept. 21) to discuss how their stimulus-funded research creates jobs and plants the seeds for new discoveries, technologies and future industries.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the federal stimulus, provided more than $18 billion for scientific research through the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. Biden said the research funds were among the most critical parts of the stimulus and key to the nation’s economic competitiveness.

“Folks, this is where the future lies,” he said. “Our economic future will grow from ideas that are incubating at universities. That’s the breeding ground and it always has been.”

Biden promised a continued federal commitment to research, saying it was up to Washington to provide the “vision” and “seed money” to help universities “change the world.”

University of California campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have received more than $1.1 billion in ARRA research funding for more than 1,900 research projects, noted Yudof. UC research seeks answers to problems ranging from climate change and clean energy to childhood diseases and cancer.

“I greatly appreciate the vice president’s time and the Administration’s support for research funding and higher education,” said Yudof. “ARRA funds are supporting our efforts to ensure a quality and affordable education and to create jobs.”

Read the full story at UC Newsroom.

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