MSU Research Foundation | Office of Research and Innovation

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The MSU Research Foundation pushes the boundaries of research and discovery by reinvesting over $10 million annually back into the brightest minds at MSU. The Foundation bridges the gap between intellectual property and startup venture, leading the way in early-stage investments throughout Michigan, crafting an ecosystem for high-tech, high-growth startup businesses and collaborators to thrive.

Formed in 1973, the MSU Research Foundation is an independent foundation chartered to promote, encourage, and aid scientific investigation and research at the university; assist with patent matters and perform trust functions for the university’s fundraising organization.

MSURF partners with the Office of Research and Innovation and generously supports several programs including those outlined below. Learn more about how the MSU Research Foundation supports the university, venture creation, and economic development.

MSU Research Foundation Website

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Internal Grants

MSU offers several programs for research development across disciplines including the arts and humanities.

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Shared Research Infrastructure

Support for shared research resources advance MSU's cutting-edge research priorities and equip university researchers with the needed tools for discovery.

Tetrad

Designed to foster new cross-unit and cross-college collaborations among faculty who have not worked together before.

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Grant Development Workshops

Tailored services and development workshops to help MSU researchers successfully compete for external funding for their research and creative pursuits.

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MSURF Professorships

A title awarded to outstanding faculty who combine externally recognized, exemplary scholarly accomplishments with clear professional relevance to specific areas of MSU scholarly need, disciplinary development, or research or creative emphasis.

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Plant Science Excellence

Investing in continued excellence and leadership in the plant sciences at MSU.

News

The Jenison Fund: Supporting MSU’s Research Momentum

Feb 12, 2026

The Jenison Fund helps researchers sustain momentum amid changes in federal funding. The second round of funding for this three-year initiative has recently been awarded.

Impact of Interdisciplinary Collaboration Showcased at the Tetrad Symposium

Feb 3, 2026

Forty Tetrad teams convened at the MSU Union to present their collaborative research at the Tetrad Symposium.

Shared Research Infrastructure Programs (SRIP) January 2026 Awards Announced

Jan 29, 2026

The Office of Research and Innovation (OR&I) is pleased to announce the January 2026 recipients for the Shared Research Infrastructure Program (SRIP) awards. SRIP supports one-time, non-recurring purchases or investments in specialized research infrastructure that will support and advance cutting-edge research at MSU, benefit a diverse range of researchers, and align with MSU’s strategic research priorities. This program is funded in part through the generosity of the Michigan State University Research Foundation.

Woodruff Receives 2025 Carl G. Hartman Award

May 27, 2025

Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2025 Carl G. Hartman Award, the highest honor from the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), recognizing a lifetime of scholarly achievement in reproductive biology.

MSURF Sponsored Research

New Fusion Energy Research Center Engages Students and DOE

Michigan State University has launched a $5 million fusion energy research center in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. The center engages students in cutting-edge plasma modeling to advance clean fusion energy.

Researchers Lead $3.7M Study to Shed Light on Perimenopause and Psychosis

For decades, women’s midlife experiences have been largely overlooked by medical research. Despite previous assumptions about midlife mental health risks, relatively little research has systematically investigated the connections between hormonal fluctuations and psychological symptoms.

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Automation Alley: Xiaobo Tan Finding Creative Uses for Soft Robots

What if a soft robot like Baymax in the Disney animated film Big Hero 6 were real? Xiaobo Tan, MSU Foundation Professor and Richard M. Hong Endowed Chair, and his team are working to bring that science fiction to life by designing robots made of soft materials that are safer for both human interaction and delicate objects.

Basso Lab Featured in New York Times

At Sandborn Farms in Portland, Michigan, a drone recently swept low over cornfields, delivering fertilizer only where data showed it was needed most. This careful approach not only saves money and boosts yields but also helps protect air, water, and soil by avoiding unnecessary fertilizer use.

MSU Team Develops Scalable Climate Solutions for Agricultural Carbon Markets

New research from MSU, led by agricultural systems scientist Bruno Basso, tackles a key flaw in agricultural carbon markets: inaccurate “baselines” used to measure climate benefits, which can distort carbon credit calculations and undermine market trust.

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Critical Mass: Core Upgrades Pave Way for Spartan Science

A revamped facility space, installation of advanced instruments, and the vision of a new director are providing Spartan scientists with the tools they need to achieve cutting-edge science at MSU’s Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomics Core.