NORMAN, OKLA. — A new report from the Data Institute for Societal Challenges (DISC) shows how the institute is turning collaborative research into measurable results for the University of Oklahoma — from seed funding and student training to hundreds of millions of dollars in external research support.
The report, Convergent Solutions: The Strategic Value of DISC, details how the institute, housed within the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships (OVPRP), connects researchers, students and community partners across OU's Norman campus, OU Health, and OU-Tulsa to tackle complex, data-intensive challenges in energy, extreme weather, health and national security.
"DISC is a university-wide catalyst that connects expertise, data, partners, and students across OU to transform complex societal challenges into collaborative research, external funding, workforce development, and real-world impact," the report states.
Seed funding, big returns
Since its inception, DISC has invested more than $1.34 million in seed funding to support 142 interdisciplinary research teams involving 420 researchers. According to the report, those investments have generated approximately $7.37 in external research support for every $1 DISC invested, a nearly 7.4-to-1 return.
Two projects highlighted in the report illustrate that impact. Seed funding awarded to Dr. Chenghao Wang, assistant professor of meteorology, helped launch a Historical Comprehensive Hourly Urban Weather Database for energy-system modeling. This work that has since drawn more than $4.3 million in follow-on funding from the EPA, NSF and NASA. Similarly, seed support for Dr. Junle Jiang, of the School of Geosciences, helped advance research on human-induced seismicity in Oklahoma, leading to a $360,000 NSF award.
DISC has also played a leading role in a Department of Defense supply-chain resilience portfolio led by Drs. Charles Nicholson and Andrés D. González, which has secured more than $8.2 million in DoD funding to date.
Nearly $390 million in external funding
Between FY2021 and FY2025, DISC-supported and affiliated projects generated approximately $390 million in externally funded research, with 72% concentrated in energy, environment and extreme weather research, 18% in health, and 11% in defense and security, according to the report. DISC-affiliated researchers also produced nearly 100 publications in FY26 alone, continuing a multi-year trend of scholarly output tied to the institute's research portfolio.
Building community across campuses
Beyond funding and publications, the report points to DISC's Communities of Practice (CoPs) as a driving force behind the University's "One University" strategy. Groups focused on areas such as supply chain resilience, hydrometeorology, trustworthy AI, digital humanities and opioid research bring together faculty, staff, students and partners from across OU's campuses creating what the report calls "the social and intellectual infrastructure" needed to form the interdisciplinary teams that compete for large-scale external grants.
Get involved
The report closes with a call to action for the OU community:
Read the full report, Convergent Solutions: The Strategic Value of DISC, here.
