Iowa State University FY26 federal research funding overview

The 2026 fiscal year was the first time since FY22 that Iowa State didn’t surpass $200 million in federal research funding. FY26’s $167.1 million is $73 million or 30.4% below the $240.1 million received in FY25.

A robust federal funding pipeline is crucial for Iowa State fulfilling its land-grant mission, according to Peter Dorhout, Vice President for Research.

“Federal research funding delivers everyday impact through discoveries that improve our food, health, and overall wellbeing, and strengthen industry and the communities in which we live,” he said. “As a land-grant institution, we are tasked with turning ideas into action. Strong, consistent federal funding is critical for the unimpeded flow of breakthroughs that keep America innovative and inventive, and ensure our university continues to deliver the progress that helps the public thrive.”

Research funding support from two of Iowa State’s traditionally largest agency sponsors – the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) – was down significantly in FY26. The decrease in DOE funding from $125.2 million in FY25 to $71.4 million in FY26 is largely due to two significant tranches of forward funding the Ames National Laboratory received in FY25 in support of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub and Ames Lab’s participation in DOE’s Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Facility (METALLIC) project, led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. An additional $3.8M was provided to Ames by ARPA-E in FY25 for multiyear efforts. The three-year average funding for Ames National Laboratory is up 51% from three years ago.

Conversely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), increased their investment in Iowa State research this fiscal year. USDA issued awards totaling $30.6 million in FY26, up 24.7% from FY25, while the HHS investment of $17.9 million in FY26 was a slight increase of 1.8% compared to FY25. It should be noted, though, these amounts represented the university’s second-lowest funding levels from each respective agency in the past five fiscal years.

Here are just a few examples of notable new research projects that were funded by federal agencies for the first time in the 2026 fiscal year . . .

Convergence Accelerator Bio-Inspired Design Innovations: BioShield CP: A microbial coating system for resilient corrosion protection

Lead Investigator: Kaoru Ikuma, Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering    

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)

Award amount: $2,000,000; three-year project, total estimated award of $4,999,999

Corrosion is a major threat to infrastructure, costing the U.S. alone more than $500 billion each year. Iowa State’s Kaoru Ikuma and colleagues are developing BioShield CP, a microbe‑based coating that protects buildings, bridges, and other structures. The project unites experts across engineering, biology, and materials science, along with government and industry partners. The focus in this phase of the research project is to create a scalable BioShield CP prototype for real‑world use and build a long‑term sustainability plan that strengthens trust among future end-users.

RESEARCH-PGR: Functional Genomics of Maize Floaral Meristem Termination

Lead Investigator: Josh Strable, Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology

Sponsor: NSF

Award amount: $1,035,762 three-year project; all funds awarded

Floral meristems (FM) are short‑lived stem cell hubs that build flowers and then shut down once their work is done. While much is known about this process in the model crop, Arabidopsis thaliana, far less is known in cereal crops like maize. This project will use maize mutants, chromatin mapping, and spatial transcriptomics to uncover the genes and networks that control meristem shutdown. The work will support better crop yields, train students across the project’s partner institutions – Iowa State, North Carolina State University, and East Carolina University – and create community activities that illustrate why FM activity matters in agriculture.

Quantifying the Mechanisms Behind SANS-Risk in Astronauts Through Patient-Informed, Mechanics-Based Simulations and Artificial Intelligence

Scientific Investigator: Saikat Mukherjee, Translational AI Research and Education Center

Lead Investigator: Sara Nelson, Iowa Space Grant Consortium.

Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Award amount: $750,000 (with cost-share, total award amount is estimated to be $1,125,000); three-year project, all funds awarded

Astronauts face health risks in microgravity, including Spaceflight‑Associated Neuro‑Ocular Syndrome (SANS), which can impair vision on long missions. A team led by Saikat Mukherjee is developing iSANS, an AI platform that uses clinical data from SANS‑like Earth conditions to predict risk and model optic‑nerve fluid dynamics. The project will build a medical database, train AI to flag high‑risk anatomy, and simulate fluid flow. Partnerships with the University of Iowa and NASA strengthen Iowa’s leadership in the biosciences, AI in health care, and space health research.

Data-Driven Automated and Proactive Asset Management to Enhance Reliability and Resilience of Rural Distribution Grids

Lead Investigator: Zhaoyu Wang, Electric Power Research Center    

Sponsor: Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)

Award amount: $800,000; three-year project, estimated total award of $1,000,000.

Aging, undersized distribution transformers (DTs) increase outage risk, especially during extreme weather. Growing demand from solar, EVs, and heat pumps adds strain, while supply‑chain delays make replacements costly. Zhaoyu Wang’s team is creating a data‑driven tool that uses sensor and weather data to assess DT health, predict failures, and guide utility decisions. Working with Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative, the team aims to generate real-world results that ultimately strengthen grid reliability across a wide range of utilities and smart meter systems.

Protection and Immunity Induced by Avian Influenza Nanovaccine (AI-nanovax) in Chickens

Lead Investigator: Balaji Narasimhan, Nanovaccine Institute     

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Award amount: $2 million; three-year project, all funds awarded

A Nanovaccine Institute team led by Balaji Narasimhan is developing AI‑nanovax, a field‑ready nanoparticle vaccine to protect poultry from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), including H5N1. Designed to be easy to use, cost‑effective, and DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals)‑compatible, the vaccine will be engineered and tested in broiler and layer chickens to identify safe, effective formulations. With collaborators at Iowa State and Wisconsin, the project aims to select a lead candidate for spray‑based mass vaccination, strengthening poultry health and food security.

Enhancing Biogenic-Pyrogenic Carbon Synergies to Improve Soil Health in Agriculture

Lead Investigator: Santanu Bakshi, Bioeconomy Institute    

Sponsor: USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

Award amount: $750,000; four-year project, all funds awarded

Animal manure, used as fertilizer, adds soil organic carbon (SOC) but its benefits are often limited through overapplication, leaching, and gas emissions. Manure’s low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio also makes it break down quickly, causing much of its carbon to be lost soon after application. Santanu Bakshi’s team will test whether biochar can help the carbon in manure stay in soil longer. They will study how biochar affects carbon cycling, how mixing time influences durability, and develop a decision‑support tool to guide farmers in co‑applying manure and biochar. The project aims to boost carbon retention, protect water quality, and strengthen long‑term farm sustainability.

Fundamental Studies of Radiation Effects on Contacts and Interfaces in Ultrawide-Bandgap Semiconductor Devices

Lead Investigator: Esmat Farzana, Electrical and Computer Engineering     

Sponsor: Department of Defense (DOD) Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)

Award amount: $599,049; three-year project, all funds awarded

Ultrawide‑bandgap semiconductors like beta‑gallium oxide and gallium nitride enable high‑power, radiation‑resistant electronics for defense and space, but they can fail under intense radiation, especially through single‑event burnout (SEB) at electrical contacts. A collaboration between Iowa State’s Esmat Farzana and co‑PI Ronald Schrimpf, Vanderbilt University, will study how radiation affects these contacts across materials and device designs to improve durability and reliability in harsh environments.

SCH: SciML-Accelerated Cardiovascular Digital Twins for Personalizing Long-Term Heart Valve Interventions

Lead Investigator: Ming-Chen Hsu, Translational AI Center (TrAC)

Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Award amount: $1,182,618 four-year project, all funds awarded

Valvular heart diseases like mitral valve regurgitation require personalized treatment, but the heart’s mechanics make this difficult. Ming‑Chen Hsu’s TrAC team is developing a digital twin that rapidly simulates valve behavior using scientific machine learning and advanced computational modeling. Their neural‑network finite element framework will model valve dynamics and blood flow, integrate full cardiovascular interactions, and support planning for procedures such as Transcatheter Edge‑to‑Edge Repair (TEER). The goal is to improve predictions, guide long‑term care, and strengthen personalized heart‑valve treatment.

Molecular Mechanism of Gamete Fusion in Malaria Parasite

Lead Investigator: Sudhir Kumar, Biomedical Sciences

Sponsor: NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Award amount: $420,750; two-year project, all funds awarded

In 2024, the World Health Organization estimated malaria infected more than 280 million people and caused more than 600,000 deaths worldwide. Parasite fertilization in mosquitoes is key to malaria’s spread. Sudhir Kumar and his team have discovered that Plasmodium parasites use a hybrid fusion system and identified three proteins essential for transmission. One, PfHAP2p2, is active in both male and female gametes, making it a promising vaccine target. This project – and additional work supported by a grant from the Warren Alpert Foundation – will clarify the PfHAP2p2 protein’s role in fertilization and advance new transmission‑blocking vaccine strategies.