For the second year in a row, Georgia Institute of Technology has been ranked among the 20 universities with the highest research and development (R&D) spending in the United States. Georgia Tech was ranked 20th based on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) annual Higher Education Research Survey. The ranking is particularly significant because Georgia Tech is the only institution in the 20 without a medical school.
In fact, the research funding has led to remarkable advances in biomedicine, including 3D-printed medical devices, breathing tubes, and devices for children with rare, life-threatening genetic disorders. Also, researchers have improved sanitation and pollution-related issues by reimagining toilets that work without water or sewage lines, making Georgia Tech a leader in sustainability.
“In everything we do at Georgia Tech, we strive for knowledge, understanding and impact,” said Chowky T. Abdallah, executive vice president for research at Georgia Tech. “These expenditures will help us address our most pressing challenges here in Georgia, around the world and beyond.”
The research took Georgia Tech into space with a team of faculty and students leading NASA’s Lunar Flashlight satellite probe in an effort to find frozen water on Earth’s moon. Here at home, Georgia Tech is leading a coalition of partners across the state to bring together artificial intelligence and innovation to strengthen Georgia’s manufacturing sector, create new opportunities for the state’s workforce, and increase its economic strength.
Georgia Tech’s R&D spending in fiscal year 2021 is $1.114 billion, representing a 6.2% increase over the 2020 total for its research enterprise, which includes the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). In fiscal year 2021, all R&D spending increased 4 percent to $89.872 billion. The nation’s top 30 schools account for 42 percent of total R&D spending, unchanged from 2020.
“We are proud to see Georgia Tech among such a prestigious public and private university,” Abdullah said. “The driving mission behind all of our research is to develop and lead innovations and innovations that improve the human condition.”
NSF collected data from 916 universities in the Higher Education Research Survey, sponsored by NSF’s National Science and Engineering Statistics Division.
The institute’s ranking of research-intensive, or R1, universities with $3.181 billion in R&D spending puts it among a group of schools that includes Duke University (No. 11 at $1.237 billion) and Johns Hopkins University. Yale University (No. 15 with $1.165 billion).
In addition to the innovations that federal and state research dollars and foundations support, R&D funding has a real and immediate impact on the Georgia economy. According to the University System of Georgia, all schools in the system contributed $19.3 billion to the state’s economy in fiscal year 2021. Georgia Tech’s share of that total — about $4.2 billion — is the highest of any USG institution, representing a 4.6% jump. Fiscal Year 2020. Learn more about Georgia Tech’s research contributions in this report.
