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

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MSU Faculty Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Three Michigan State University faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2025. Christoph Benning, Jianguo "Jack" Liu and Philip Robertson are among the 120 members and 30 international members being recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Spartan Researchers Make Every Drop Count

College of Natural Science Assistant Professor Anthony Kendall and College of Engineering Associate Professor Annick Anctil are part of an interdisciplinary team. Together, with Kansas Geological Survey and Kansas State University, they created a system to increase groundwater and preserve aquifers by harnessing the power of solar panel arrays.

Moran’s Research to Better Understand Earth’s Ecosystems

Moran’s research uses stable isotope analysis to address an array of questions linked to microbial ecology and plant-microbe interactions. He is particularly interested in tracking interactions between plant roots and microbes in the thin region of soil just outside the roots, called the rhizosphere.

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MSU Museum and GEL Lab Secure HARP Grant for Gaming Exhibition

The MSU Museum and the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab have been awarded the prestigious 2025 Humanities and Arts Research Program Large-Scale Development Grant to support the creation of Game Changers, an immersive exhibition exploring the societal, cultural and technological impact of video games.

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Afro-Caribbean Artists Reclaim Stories of Slave Trade in New Documentary

Safoi Babana-Hampton, Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Michigan State University, has produced and directed a documentary that features artists, historians, and policymakers who challenge Eurocentric narratives to reclaim, reshape, and preserve the memory of the Black Atlantic experience.

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MSU Scientists Discover New Sources for ‘The Molecule That Made the Universe’

From helping catalyze interstellar reactions and fueling the birth of stars to its presence in neighborhood gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter, trihydrogen, or H3+, is best known as the “the molecule that made the universe.”