Quiet with fewer distractions is how a professor described being in the Engineering and Technology building filling out grant application over summer break.

Engineering Assistant Professor Tolga Kaya said about 20 to 30 percent of the faculty population is in the building during that time.

One way professors use their unpaid summer breaks to continue research and write grants. Kaya said grant writing can take months and has low success rates.

"Usually it ends up being a hundred-page document," Kaya said. "The good thing with the summer is we don't teach (or) have university-related meetings, so we have more time to dedicate to research."

Grant amounts differ between disciplines. Kaya said projects in the science and technology fields typically get larger grants because of the need for supplies and the possibility of hiring graduate students--who require payment--and undergraduates, whom he prefers to pay.

Four students will spend summer breaks in the Engineering and Technology Building with Kaya as they continue their research on sweat sensors for about 20 to 40 hours a week.

Associate professor Johnathan Truitt said he will not be writing grants during the summer.

"I try to do my grant writing during the year (because) I enjoy my research quite a bit, and during the summer I would much rather be doing something I enjoy than something that is frustrating," Truitt said. "You put in a lot of effort and you often get turned down."

Truitt said an emphasis on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics disciplines may account for more money in those areas than for the humanities.

"Research grants are all over the place. (The amount) depends on your field (and) what you are looking to do with the research," Truitt said. "Science grants involve technology, whereas history grants are often 'I need travel money, time to write or for making a documentary.'"

Truitt said large grants for history professors are generally $40,000 to $60,000, compared to Kaya who said he tries for grants between $100,000 and $150,000.

Kaya applies for four to five grants a year through the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health or the military. Success rates for grants have decreased, meaning the number of awards given by grantees have shrunk compared to the number of applicants.

According to the National Institute of Health, the success rate for grants was 21 percent in 2009 compared to 32 percent 10 years earlier.

CMU takes 43 percent of successful grant sums professors earn, which accounts for the use of campus facilities, Kaya said.

"If I get a $100,000 (grant) that means I get about $50,000 for my research, so that is why we need to double the amount of money that we get." Kaya said. "That rate (43 percent) goes down wherever you are applying has a limitation."

CMU also supports professors internally with limited funds for research. Truitt said even though writing grants is frustrating, it can also be exciting.

"You apply for more grants, because when you do people say yes," Truitt said. "Sometimes you get told yes and thats exciting, but I would rather spend my summer on something I know what the outcome is going to be."