Virginia Tech’s research expenditures have increased by 9 percent, approaching $600 million for fiscal year 2022, according to preliminary data presented this week to the Board of Visitors.
External expenditures from sponsored awards reflected a record increase of more than 14 percent, Virginia Tech Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation Dan Sui said during his update to the board.
Nearly 4,000 Virginia Tech faculty conduct research, the school said in a statement.
In January, total expenditures will be finalized and reported in the National Science Foundation’s annual Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, which is the primary source of information on research and development expenditures for U.S. colleges and universities.
Over the last year, Virginia Tech’s sponsored research portfolio had the highest percentages of funding from the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Health Frontier research area saw the most growth, with sponsored research from the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others, increasing by 26 percent over the prior year. The growth can be attributed to a universitywide investment to expand research in the health sciences and technology field by growing the biomedical research program, expanding the Roanoke campus, recruiting “world-class researchers and students,” and expanding its impact in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area with its partnership with the Children’s National Hospital, the university said in a statement
In addition, the Security Frontier showed significant growth, according to the university. For example, the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation, an affiliated corporation of the university, had record expenditures, growing by more than 40 percent from the prior year. The Virginia Tech National Security Institute also had substantial growth, increasing expenditures by 50 percent since the institute was established last fall.
