by Richard J. Bennof[1]

Due to significant errors in data reported by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this report has been revised. Correcting for these errors reduced the total R&D obligations for George Washington University by $83.4 million, revising its ranking from 51st to 92nd and moved $46.2 million in R&D obligations from the University of Central Florida to the University of South Florida. University of South Florida's ranking has been revised from 112th to 70th, and University of Central Florida's ranking has been revised from 86th to 130th. See table 1 for revised rankings of institutions affected by these corrections. Data for 2007 and prior years may be subject to further review and revisions.

  Table 1 Source Data: Excel file

The revised statistics from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions show that federal agencies obligated $25.3 billion to academic institutions for science and engineering (S&E) research and development (R&D) programs in FY 2007. This slight current-dollar decrease (0.1%), though, resulted in a 2.7% decrease in constant 2000 dollars from the prior-year level. For all FY 2007 R&D recipients, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) supplied 64.2% of the total; NSF's proportion was 13.0%; and the Department of Defense's support was 11.8%.

In FY 2007, federal R&D obligations to the top 100 institutions totaled $20.9 billion, or 82.6%, of the total.

In FY 2006, the top 100 academic R&D institutions received $20.7 billion, or a slightly smaller 81.6% share of the R&D total.

Of those academic institutions that were in the leading 100 of all academic R&D recipients in FY 2007 (table 1), fully 96 were among the top 100 recipients in FY 2006. The four universities ranked in the FY 2007 top 100 but not ranked in the top 100 for FY 2006 were Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Utah State University, and the University of Georgia. The four academic institutions that fell out of the FY 2007 top 100 were New Mexico State University all campuses, Tulane University, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The full set of detailed statistical tables on the FY 2007 Survey of Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions will be available online at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/fedsupport/. Individual tables from the 2007 survey may be available in advance of the full report. For more information, contact the author.

Note

[1]  Richard J. Bennof, Research and Development Statistics Program, Division of Science Resources Statistics, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965, Arlington, VA 22230 (rbennof@nsf.gov; 703-292-7783).