America’s Research-active, Geotechnical Faculty Members-an Investigation of National Science Foundation Funding Trends

摘要

This paper is an investigation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) fundingtrends within America’s research-active tenured and tenure-track, civil engineeringcommunity from 50 major, doctoral-granting institutions, with 5 schools examinedin detail. Important questions are raised as to how funding patterns relate torank and sub-discipline within Civil Engineering, and whether there is a causal linkwith publication rates. The paper presents key parameters with respect to issues thatmay be critical for tenure decisions at some institutions. They include total averagenumber of awards per individual, the size of those awards normalized by named participant,and how these values have changed over the past nearly 40 years. These issuesare considered for Geotechnical Engineering in comparison to other subdisciplineswithin Civil Engineering. Funding breakdowns shows a higher reliance ofGeotechnical engineers on traditional funding programs within NSF with a profoundlygreater capacity to raise money at more senior levels, although these additional resourcesdo not necessarily translate into increased journal publication rates.