East Stark News

The Ohio State University’s annual research and development expenditures increased by double digits in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and set a new university record.

The Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge, in partnership with the university’s colleges, tracks annual research and development funding and reported $1.38 billion in expenditures for FY22. This is a 11.7% increase over FY21 expenditures, a then-record $1.236 billion.

“It’s exciting to see the transformative research and creative expression being conducted to address societal challenges. This record year is a testament to the hard work, curiosity and commitment to research and innovation on the part of our faculty, students and staff,” said Peter Mohler, Ohio State’s recently announced interim executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge.

The analysis is part of the university’s submission to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) survey.

Federal expenditures totaled $636.9 million in FY22. That’s an increase of more than 12% from FY21. That growth was observed across the portfolio of federal agencies, including:

• National Science of Foundation, with a 21% increase.
• National Institutes of Health funding was up 10%.
• Department of Defense expenditures at Ohio State were up 6%.
• Department of Energy funding increased 8%. 

Industry expenditures continued to be strong, totaling $144.77 million in FY22. State-sponsored research expenditures totaled $63.67 million in FY22, a 32% increase from FY21.

Ohio State is ranked 12th among all universities in overall research expenditures in fiscal year FY21, an increase of 12 positions from a previous ranking of 24th in FY20. Ohio State’s ranking also increased among public colleges and universities, moving up from 15th in 2020 to 7th in 2021. 

The HERD survey is currently expected to release its FY22 rankings of higher education research programs in November 2023.

The strong momentum in research investment continues, with some recent highlights including:

• In August 2022, the National Science Foundation announced funding for the Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing, Moving from Evolution to Revolution (HAMMER) Engineering Research Center, for five years at $26 million with the ability to renew for another $26 million for an additional five years.
• Ohio State is the lead partner for the first-ever science park devoted to space research. Voyager Space selected a proposal from the university, the State of Ohio, JobsOhio and One Columbus (“Team Ohio”) to host the terrestrial analog of the George Washington Carver Science Park (GWCSP) at Ohio State. The analog laboratory will be a replica of the Starlab space station science park and allows researchers to test missions and conduct parallel experiments on the ground.
• Ohio State announced in November it will establish and operate a new testing center to support the deployment of zero-emission and low-emission public transportation buses with the support of a $26.5 million investment from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Original source can be found here.