COLLEGE STATION, TX — According to their Division of Research, Texas A&M has officially become the first Texas university to reach $1.131 billion in research expenditure funding for the fiscal year of 2020.
So how good is this? Well, as an increase of $179 million from 2019, they are reporting an 18.8% overall increase in their research budget.
Nationally, Texas A&M now joins the following research universities, that have also exceeded past $1 billion in total annual research expenditures, including:
- University of Michigan
- University of North Carolina
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Funding research, these expenditures include studies conducted in College Station, their additional remote campuses in Galveston and Qatar, and through their state agencies within The Texas A&M University System.
“Texas A&M’s commitment to research and innovation is why it has grown into one of the premier institutions in America, and I commend university leadership and staff for their work to keep Texas A&M at the forefront of research and discovery. The State of Texas will continue to invest in higher education and work with our university partners to build a brighter future for Texas.” shared Governor Greg Abbott in part.
A&M System Chancellor, John Sharp, also noted Gov. Abbott's support via the creation of the Governor’s University Research Initiative. According to the initiative’s 2021 report to the Texas Legislature, as of last Dec 31, this has lead to $43.68 million being invested, attracting 12 of the nation’s largest researchers to Texas A&M.
As a result of all these initiatives, A&M has increased the total number of National Academies members on its faculty by 152.6%, adding on 29 since 2011.
So where does all this money go?
According to Texas A&M’s most recent submission to the NSF, investment into research expenditures for the fiscal year 2020, included;
- Life sciences, $502.3 million
- Engineering, $359.4 million
- Geosciences, atmospheric and ocean sciences, $107.8 million
- Physical sciences, $54.1 million
- Non-science-and-engineering fields, $40.8 million
- Social sciences, $29.4 million
- Computer and information sciences, $17.4 million
- Mathematics and statistics, $8.7 million
- Pther sciences, $5.6 million
- Psychology, $5.2 million.
“Every year, the competition grows more ferocious for research funding from government, industry, and other sources,” Vice President for Research, Mark A. Barteau, shared.“Texas A&M benefits enormously in this struggle from the outstanding reputations of our researchers and their teams, who consistently generate discoveries and innovations that reshape our world.”