For the second consecutive year, the Georgia Institute of Technology has garnered a spot among the 20 universities in the U.S. with the highest amount of R&D spending.
Georgia Tech was ranked No. 20 in the National Science Foundation’s annual Higher Education Research and Development Survey (NSF). Georgia Tech is the only institution in the Top 20 without a medical school, so the ranking is especially significant.
For the second consecutive year, the Georgia Institute of Technology has garnered a spot among the 20 universities in the U.S. with the highest amount of research and development (R&D) spending.
Indeed, research funding has resulted in remarkable biomedical breakthroughs, such as 3D-printed medical devices such as tracheal and bronchial splints for children with rare, life-threatening genetic irregularities. It has also propelled Georgia Tech to the forefront of sustainability, as researchers reimagine toilet systems that operate without inlet or output sewer lines, thereby improving sanitation and pollution issues.
“At Georgia Tech, we strive for knowledge, understanding, and impact in everything we do,” said Chaouki T. Abdallah, executive vice president for Research. “These investments also assist us in addressing our most pressing challenges here in Georgia, around the world, and even beyond Earth.”
Georgia Tech has also sent a team of faculty and students into space to guide NASA’s Lunar Flashlight satellite probe in its search for frozen water on Earth’s moon. Here at home, Georgia Tech is leading a coalition of partners from across the state in an effort to bring artificial intelligence and innovation together to strengthen Georgia’s manufacturing sector, create new opportunities for the state’s workforce, and increase the state’s economic resilience.
Georgia Tech’s R&D spending in fiscal year 2021 of $1.114 billion represents a 6.2% increase over the figure in fiscal year 2020 for its entire research enterprise, which includes the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). In fiscal year 2021, total R&D spending in higher education increased 4% to $89.872 billion. The top 30 schools in the country accounted for 42% of that overall R&D spending amount, unchanged from 2020.
“We are honoured to be included among such an esteemed group of public and private universities,” said Abdallah. “The overarching goal of all of our research is to create and lead in creative work and innovations that improve the human condition.”
The NSF collected its data from 916 universities in the Higher Education Research and Development Survey, sponsored by the NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics unit.
The Institute’s ranking among research-intensive or R1 universities includes Johns Hopkins University, which had the highest R&D spending with $3.181 billion, Duke University (No. 11 with $1.237 billion), and Yale University (No. 15 with $1.165 billion).
Aside from the innovations supported by federal and state research dollars and foundation grants, R&D funding has a very real and immediate impact on Georgia’s economy.
In fiscal year 2021, the University System of Georgia reported that all of its schools contributed $19.3 billion to the state’s economy.
Georgia Tech’s share of that totaly roughly $4.2 billionepwas the highest of any USG institution and represents a 4.6% increase over the previous fiscal yearre of that total—roughly $4.2 billion—was the highest of any USG institution and represents a 4.6% increase over the previous fiscal year. Learn more about Georgia Tech’s research contributions in this report.