Four Penn State institutions, including University Park, will be receiving a total of $1,131,300 from a $6 million grant funded by two state programs with the purpose of promoting research development and attracting top researchers to the area.

The main campus at University Park, Penn State Erie, Penn State Harrisburg and the Hershey Medical Center will be splitting the $6 million grant with 15 other state-related universities.

The $6 million is composed of two grants of $3 million each from the Keystone Innovation Starter Kits and the Keystone Innovation Grants, said Kevin Ortiz, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Penn State University Park will be receiving $250,000 from the first grant and $150,000 from the second grant, according to a press release.

This money will benefit Penn State technology and employment, Ortiz said.

The money will be interdisciplinary, said Paul Hallacher, Penn State's director of research program development at University Park.

"It's certainly not limited to any particular department," Hallacher said. "It's going to various disciplines and departments at those different campuses."

At University Park, a majority of the money will be used for hiring new faculty and technology transfer programs, Hallacher said.

"[The money will go toward] new faculty hires, research equipment and facilities and support for new companies in this geographic area that will commercialize Penn State technology," Hallacher said.

Hallacher added that the money would be distributed mainly, but not exclusively, to the College of Engineering, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and the College of Agricultural Sciences.

The starter kits aim to attract researchers and graduate students, which would result in more research dollars and high-paying jobs, Ortiz said.

The grants provide capital for faculty and students for marketing plan analysis, patenting research and licensing realty, he added.

The starter kits will be funded by the 2005 budget, and the grants will be funded by Gov. Ed Rendell's stimulus program, Ortiz said.

Repeated phone calls to the governor's office were not returned.

The overall goal of these programs is to jumpstart the commonwealth's economy by promoting the transition of research to marketable products, Ortiz said.

"They set this money aside because one of the critical issues around research and with universities is taking the concepts, ideas and the research from universities and getting it out into the marketplace and creating new companies," Ortiz said.

Rep. Lawrence Curry, D-Montgomery, chairman of the subcommittee on higher education, said the programs will encourage colleges and universities across the state to improve and increase research.

"They want universities to get out front with their research capacity and to develop products and solutions to problems that will bring a new market to Pennsylvania," Curry said.

The reasons behind the money might be related to the concept of "brain drain" -- the idea that students are being educated in Pennsylvania but leaving the state to pursue a career, Hallacher said.

"I think it has to do with the overall need for economic development in Pennsylvania and the recognition that higher education institutions and research intensive universities in particular can make major contributions to economic development if leveraged," Hallacher said.

The Keystone Innovation programs are part of Rendell's economic stimulus plan, which is already generating positive results, Ortiz said.

With 5,730,100 jobs, Pennsylvania currently has the highest level of employment in its history, he added.