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Funding Cuts Hit Utah State University Space Lab

Posted on: Thursday, 8 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Jeff DeMoss, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah

Jun. 8--LOGAN -- The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University is reducing its staff by as much as 18 percent over the next year, a move that could cut more than 40 jobs from the research facility.

The management of the USU Research Foundation, which exists mainly for the purpose of funding the SDL, told lab staff Wednesday that a recent reduction in NASA science funding and delays in funding for Department of Defense contracts have made the reductions necessary.

Approximately 350 people currently work in the lab, and about 75 are students. The cuts will come primarily from the remaining 275 positions, said Harry Ames, deputy director of the lab.

"We're looking at a preemptive reduction of maybe 20 to 30 people initially," Ames said. "We have a couple of weeks of work ahead to refine that number and to identify individuals."

He said a general reduction in funding for aerospace-related projects has affected similar labs and companies in the industry across the country, and that the total number of job cuts will depend on the flow of contract work over the next several months.

"If things don't fall in the direction we believe they will, we may have to do something more later in the year," he said. He expects the initial round of cuts to take place around July 1.

The research foundation is owned by USU, but its operations are financially independent of the university.

Research at the SDL has traditionally centered on "solid space" science, which focuses on unmanned instruments and processes that produce fundamental science about the Earth, the solar system, galaxies and the universe.

Federal mandates have diverted more NASA funding into manned projects such as the International Space Station, the space shuttle's return to flight, and the next-generation crew launch vehicle, Ames said.

The lab is working toward diversifying its capabilities to reduce its dependence on traditional funding sources. It is expanding its role in agricultural science, as well as surveillance and reconnaissance technology for the intelligence community.

"There are some specialized skills for which we may be hiring during this period because of new directions we have been forced to take," Ames said.

He said the lab has morphed over the years from an entity largely dependent on grants and partnerships into more of a nonprofit corporation, making it more vulnerable to ups and downs in the industry.

"Since we have grown, we have had to start competing in the aerospace business," he said. "We have now hit a business model that is clearly cyclical."

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Source: Standard-Examiner

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