Federal laboratories in Arizona account for a significant portion of the state’s federal R&D dollars. In FY 1995, they received $178 million, or 19 percent of the state total. 

DOD is the main source of these funds, providing over 75 percent ($135 million). In keeping with Arizona’s strength in the area of advanced electronics, the chief recipient of this funding is the Army’s Electronic Proving Ground (EPG) in Fort Huachuca. The EPG, a subcommand of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, conducts tests and experiments on new electronic systems for both the military and the private sector. EPG work includes testing of command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) and electronic warfare equipment. 

While DOD dominates federal R&D funding to Arizona’s national labs, several other agencies also have research facilities in the state. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of NIH, has its Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch in Phoenix. The branch investigates diabetes, obesity, and digestive and kidney diseases. Many of these diseases are especially prevalent among the Native Americans of the Southwest. The Pima Indians and other Native American populations are often the subject of the branch’s research. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) funds several laboratories in Arizona. Three research units in Tucson investigate honeybee productivity, water resources, and barley genetics. ARS also runs the U.S. Water Conservation Laboratory and the Western Cotton Research Laboratory in Phoenix. 

NASA’s federal lab funding to the state is focused on the Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona (see Universities and Colleges).