A Rising Tide of Research

Without research, we’d have no vaccines, no smart phones … nor anything for universities to teach. A new report card from the Center for Measuring University Performance, at Arizona State University, ranks the U of M’s research enterprise among the top 25 for public universities; however, we were one of only nine that met all the CMUP criteria, including total and federally sponsored research, faculty awards, and doctorates earned.

Other bright spots, from the U of M's Office of the Vice President for Research:

• In FY2013 the U of M ranked ninth in research expenditures among public universities.

• Since 2008, U of M patent filings have risen by 165 percent (from 52 to 138), new licenses by 144 percent, and startups based on U of M research from 2 to 15. One particularly productive researcher: Jian-Ping Wang (electrical and computer engineering), whose work spawned 39 patents and three startup companies.

• Between fiscal years 2013 and 2014, R&D budgets for key federal agencies rose 1.1 percent, while the U of M’s share of this funding rose by 2.4 percent.

• A big growth area was research support via collaborations with other universities who, in essence, invested in the U of M.

The upticks are no accident; among other measures, the U of M has cut red tape for researchers in business and industry who want to work with University colleagues.