About Delaware EPSCoR

Welcome to the Delaware-NSF EPSCoR outreach Web site! Through this site, we hope to introduce you to the fascinating complexity of our natural environment and the efforts of the Delaware scientific community to understand, evaluate, and protect the ecosystem that sustains us.

This effort received a large boost in the spring of 2005, when Delaware received a $9-million, 3-year research infrastructure improvement (RII) grant through the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR. The purpose of this grant was to create a statewide interdisciplinary network of people, programs, and instrumentation focused on the theme of complex environmental systems and ecosystem health. The theme was carefully selected for its potential to build on existing capabilities and expertise within the state, to help meet state and national research and development goals, and to contribute to economic growth. In 2008, a new, five-year EPSCoR grant for $15 million, along with $1 million from the State of Delaware for 2008, made it possible to continue this important work.

Delaware is one of 27 U.S. states and territories that receive funds through NSF's EPSCoR program. It has served as a successful model for similar programs adopted by a number of federal agencies that sponsor scientific research, including the National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense. More detailed information about the history and management of Delaware-NSF EPSCoR is available from our administrative site.

An important outgrowth of the EPSCoR process has been the organization of the Delaware Science and Technology Council, which unites academic, business, and government leaders in an effort to develop a strategic science and technology plan for Delaware. This plan encompasses agriculture, human health, clean energy, information technologies, and the environment.

The University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Wesley College, and Delaware Technical & Community College are working together to achieve EPSCoR’s goals in four interrelated areas: science, education, ethics and policy, and economic development. Each of these areas is highlighted on this Web site, and we invite you to spend some time exploring them in more depth. Your feedback is valuable to us as we continue to develop and expand this site, so please contact us with your comments.