Arizona’s nonprofit institutions received a little over $5 million from the federal government for R&D in FY 1995, only a 0.6 percent share of the state’s total funding. These funds account for most of the federal R&D that is not conducted by industry, universities, federal labs, or NOAO. HHS obligated $3.6 million to nonprofit hospitals and medical centers in the state, with a handful of federal agencies providing the rest of the funds. 

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix received more federal R&D funding, $2.3 million from HHS in FY 1995, than any of Arizona’s other nonprofit institutions. Much of the hospital’s research focuses on the human nervous system, in areas like neuro-oncology and motor control. 

The nonprofit Mayo Clinic, headquartered in Minnesota, also performs health research in Arizona. The Clinic’s Scottsdale location performs molecular genetics research. 

The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is one of Arizona’s oldest science institutions. Much of the research at Lowell is focused on objects and phenomena within our solar system. In FY 1995, it received a total of $1.1 million from DOD, NASA, and NSF. 

While not yet a major recipient of federal R&D funds, Biosphere II is perhaps Arizona’s most famous nonprofit research institution. In 1996, Columbia University took over the operation, turning it into a nonprofit organization performing research on earth systems, climatology and atmospheric science. Biosphere II’s unique capacities allow for studies of carbon and trace element cycles, biodiversity, and the effects of agriculture on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.