The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Ohio State University announced Friday that it received a record $426 million in research funding for the 2001-02 fiscal year.

The amount tops last year's total of $350 million and is 80 percent more than the university received in 1997-98, according to a report received Friday by the university's board of trustees.

"Ohio State is opening new areas of research and establishing itself as the leader in key areas," said C. Bradley Moore, OSU's vice president of research.

Mr. Moore said the increase can be traced to faculty writing more proposals and having more accepted. In the 2001-'02 fiscal year, 3,782 university research proposals were selected for funding - an increase of 8 percent over last year.

Ohio State ranks fifth nationally among American universities in receiving research support from industry. Only Duke, Penn State, MIT and Georgia Tech rank higher.