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Best Global Universities for Education and Educational Research in the United States

These are the top universities in the United States for education and educational research, based on their reputation and research in the field. Read the methodology »

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Here are the best global universities for education and educational research in the United States

Michigan state university, stanford university, harvard university, university of california irvine, university of michigan, vanderbilt university, university of maryland college park, university of california berkeley, pennsylvania state university, arizona state university-tempe.

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• # 2 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 116 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

• # 3 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 3 in Best Global Universities

Stanford University was founded in 1885 and is located in California’s Bay Area, around 30 miles south of San Francisco... Read More

• # 5 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research  (tie)
• # 1 in Best Global Universities

Founded in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest higher education institution in the U.S. The bulk of Harvard's... Read More

• # 8 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 84 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

• # 12 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 19 in Best Global Universities

The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor is a public institution that was founded in 1817 and made the city of Ann Arbor its... Read More

• # 13 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 78 in Best Global Universities
• # 16 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 57 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

• # 18 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 4 in Best Global Universities

The University of California—Berkeley is situated roughly 15 miles from San Francisco in what is known as the Bay Area... Read More

• # 20 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 23 in Best Universities for Education and Educational Research
• # 156 in Best Global Universities  (tie)

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• NATURE INDEX
• 29 April 2020

Leading research institutions 2020

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A researcher at the University of California, San Diego, prepares to launch a 3D-printed rocket. Credit: Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing has topped the Nature Index 2020 Annual Tables list as the most prolific producer of research published in the 82 selected journals tracked by the Index (see Graphic).

CAS’s Share of 1805.22 in 2019 was almost twice that of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which came in second. Research institutions from China, the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom feature among the ten most prolific institutions in the Index. See the 2020 Annual Tables Top 100 research institutions for 2019 .

(Share, formerly referred to in the Nature Index as Fractional Count (FC), is a measure of an entity’s contribution to articles in the 82 journals tracked by the index, calculated according to the proportion of its affiliated authors on an article relative to all authors on the article. When comparing data over time, Share values are adjusted to 2019 levels to account for the small annual variation in the total number of articles in the Nature Index journals. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. See Editor’s note below.)

Source: Nature Index

Here is a selection of institutions from the top 25 of the Nature Index 2020 Annual Tables .

University of Science and Technology of China

Share: 455.82; Count: 1,231; Change in adjusted Share (2018–19): +25.6%; Place: 8th

Established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1958 in Beijing (then known as Peking), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) moved to its current location in Hefei, the capital of the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, in 1970.

Today, it employs about 16,000 students, including 1,900 PhD students, as well as 1,812 faculty members, 547 of which are professors.

Nature Index 2020 Annual Tables

The institution’s strongest subjects in the Nature Index are chemistry and physical sciences. USTC is a global collaborator, counting the Max Planck Society in Munich, Germany, the University of Oxford, UK, and Stanford University in California among its close partners.

In 2019, USTC researchers were part of an international team that discovered a stellar black hole with a mass 70 times greater than that of the Sun. The findings, published in Nature , were mentioned in more than 300 tweets and nearly 200 news stories, according to Altmetric.

University of Michigan, United States

Share: 343.45; Count: 939; Change in adjusted Share (2018–19): − 3.3%; Place: 19th

Placed first among public universities in the United States for research volume, according to the US National Science Foundation, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor encompasses 260,000 square metres of lab space, which is accessed by students and staff in 227 centres and institutes across its campus.

With US$1.62 billion in research expenditure and more than 500 new invention reports in the fiscal year 2019, the University of Michigan is focused on innovative areas in research, including data science, precision health and bioscience. Its Global CO 2 Initiative, launched in 2018, aims to identify and pursue commercially sustainable approaches that reduce atmospheric CO 2 levels by 4 gigatons per year.

A 2019 study published in Science on honesty and selfishness across cultures, led by behavioural economist Alain Cohn, was covered by almost 300 online news outlets and reached more than 22 million people on Twitter, according to Altmetric. The study, which tested people’s willingness to return a dummy lost wallet, revealed a ‘high level’ of civic honesty.

University of California, San Diego, United States

Share: 340.85; Count: 1,048; Change in adjusted Share (2018–19): − 1.2%; Place: 20th

With US$1.35 billion in annual research funding, the University of California, San Diego, is a force in natural-sciences research, particularly in oceanography and the life sciences.

Its health-sciences group, which includes the School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, brought in US$761 million in research funding in the fiscal year 2019, and Scripps Oceanography, one of the world’s oldest and largest centres for research in ocean and Earth science, won $180 million in funding.

The university also has a focus on innovation, with more than 2,500 active inventions, 1,870 US and foreign patents, and 31 start-ups launched in 2018 by faculty members, students and staff. One such start-up was CavoGene LifeSciences, which aims to develop gene therapies to treat neurodegenerative disease.

Zhejiang University, China

Share: 329.82; Count: 815; Change in adjusted Share (2018–19): +10.5%; Place: 23rd

Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, is part of the Chinese government’s Double First Class Plan, which aims to develop several world-class universities by 2050. It employs 3,741 full-time faculty members and partners with nearly 200 institutions around the world.

Zhejiang’s total research funding reached 4.56 billion yuan (US$644 million) in 2018, with 926 projects supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Fund and 1,838 Chinese invention patents issued. The university is home to materials scientist Dawei Di, who was listed as a top innovator under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2019 for his work on organic light-emitting diodes and perovskite light-emitting diodes.

In 2019, Zheijiang researchers published a Science paper with an international team that proposed a method for boosting plant growth while reducing water use, which could contribute to more sustainable agriculture practices.

Northwestern University, United States

Share: 317.12; Count: 762; Change in adjusted Share (2018–19): − 7.6%; Place: 25th

Founded as a private research university in 1851, Northwestern University, based in Evanston, Illinois, now also has campuses in Chicago and Doha, Qatar, and employs 3,300 full-time research staff. It has an annual budget of US$2 billion and attracts more than US$700 million for sponsored research each year.

The fastest-rising institution in the United States in high-quality life-sciences research output, Northwestern University was also 14th in the world in chemistry in the Nature Index 2020 Annual Tables .

Its star researchers include mathematician Emmy Murphy, one of six recipients of the 2020 New Horizons Prize for her work in the field of topology — the study of geometric properties and relationships — and physicist John Joseph Carrasco and neuroscientist Andrew Miri, who in February were awarded prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01230-x

This article is part of Nature Index 2020 Annual Tables , an editorially independent supplement. Advertisers have no influence over the content.

Editor’s note: The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 82 natural-science journals, selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at natureindex.com .

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World University Rankings 2023

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

This year’s ranking analysed over 121 million citations across more than 15.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 40,000 scholars globally. Overall, we collected over 680,000 datapoints from more than 2,500 institutions that submitted data.

Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, this year’s league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.

View the World University Rankings 2023 methodology

The University of Oxford tops the ranking for the seventh consecutive year. Harvard University remains in second place, but the University of Cambridge jumps from joint fifth last year to joint third.

The highest new entry is Italy’s Humanitas University, ranked in the 201-250 bracket.

The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).

Mainland China now has the fourth-highest number of institutions in the top 200 (11, compared with 10 last year), having overtaken Australia, which has dropped to fifth (joint with the Netherlands).

Five countries enter the ranking for the first time – all of them in Africa (Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mauritius).

Harvard tops the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.

Overall, 1,799 universities are ranked. A further 546 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet our eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table.

Read our analysis of the World University Rankings 2023 results

Download a copy of the World University Rankings 2023 digital report

To raise your university’s global profile with Times Higher Education , contact [email protected]

To unlock the data behind THE ’s rankings and access a range of analytical and benchmarking tools, click here

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Competition for private donors, talented students, and highly skilled professors produced a virtuous circle in which elite institutions re warded high-quality research.

T he United States had about 900 colleges before the Civil War. By 1875, educational attainment exceeded that in any European nation, but the country had no top-tier research universities. Yet over the next half century, US research universities not only emerged, but achieved global dominance. In 1920, for example, there were more mentions of US universities than German universities — long the global research leaders — in the biographies of Nobel Prize winners.

In Why Does the US Have the Best Research Universities? Incentives, Resources, and Virtuous Circles (NBER Working Paper 28279 ), W. Bentley MacLeod and Miguel Urquiola explain how American higher education in the late nineteenth century was remodeled when a relatively free market encountered changing student demand. New universities specializing in advanced instruction and research attracted both funding and students. Today, the most selective US research universities spend about $150,000 per student, six times the national average.

In the first century after American independence, US students generally preferred colleges that were close to home, and schools were differentiated by religious affiliation. The curricula emphasized Latin, Greek, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, physical sciences, and ethics and politics. Open enrollment meant that anyone who could afford the tuition could attend, and colleges grew by adding more students. There were few professors, and they were paid relatively little. Some professors conducted research, but it was neither emphasized nor rewarded.

Attempts at reform only succeeded decisively when private donors created Cornell University in 1865 and Johns Hopkins University in 1876. Both schools attracted students by expanding curricula, offering specialized instruction, and focusing on graduate education. MIT, Stanford, the University of Chicago, the University of California, Berkeley, and various land-grant state universities were other early entrants. Well-established institutions, such as Harvard and Columbia, responded to the competition by creating their own specialized departments and professional schools.

In Europe, where higher education was largely funded by governments, the entry of new universities was discouraged. While US schools created nationwide faculty and student sorting systems in their competition for research talent, some European countries, including Germany, focused their resources on preserving equality across schools. Many European faculty salaries were determined by rank and seniority rather than the internal “up-or-out” evaluation based on research quality that came to prevail in the US.

Instructors qualified to teach new, specialized curricula were in short supply in the US, and they were difficult to identify. Schools competed for talent by offering higher salaries, reduced teaching loads, sabbaticals, and, beginning at Princeton in the 1920s, tenure. The researchers suggest that tenure increased institutional research productivity in part because tenured faculty do not need to protect their jobs by avoiding hiring more talented colleagues.

As the US supply of graduate specialists grew, professors founded associations like the American Chemical Society (1877) and the American Historical Association (1884). They began publishing specialty journals that reviewed the quality of research before publication .

Growing numbers of students with open enrollment meant that less-prepared students began attending college, threatening colleges’ ability to cater to the elites who had been their traditional customers. In 1919, Columbia implemented selective admissions. It capped its class size, required personal data on application forms, and denied admission without explanation. This, along with the use of standardized tests like the SAT in 1926, gradually created academically stronger student bodies. Early adopters of selective admissions developed supportive alumni networks that donated to them, further advancing research and specialized instruction. These institutions were well positioned to garner an outsized portion of the large increase in federal research funding that began in the 1960s.

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Top 25 american universities for r and d spending; johns hopkins #1 again.

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Johns Hopkins University is once again the top U.S. university in research and development ... [+] expenditures. From the Homewood Photography collection. (Photo by JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images)

Total research and development (R and D) expenditures at American colleges and universities topped $89 billion in Fiscal Year 2021, according to the most recent Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey , released by the National Science Foundation (NSF) this week.

The Fy 21 total of $89,872,007 represents an increase of more than $3.4 billion (4%) over FY 2020. Funding from federal sources accounted for $3.0 billion of the total increase, the largest increase in federally funded R&D expenditures since FY 2011.

The HERD Survey is sponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation. The R&D expenditure data were collected from 910 universities and colleges that grant a bachelor’s degree or higher and expended at least $150,000 in R&D in the prior fiscal year. For most of the surveyed institutions, FY 2021 covered the period of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.

According to NSF, the reported amounts include all funds spent on activities specifically organized to produce research outcomes that are sponsored by an outside organization or supported with institution funds. The major souces of funding are:

• the federal government, which includes agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (under which the National Institutes of Health funding is counted), the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation. and the Department of Agriculture. Federal funding accounted for 54.8% of FY 2020’s total R and D expenditures.
• state and local governments, 5.3% of all expenditures
• institution funds, 25% of all expenditures
• business, 6.5% of all expenditures
• nonprofit organizations, 6.2% of all expenditures
• all other sources, 3%.

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Research expenditures are one way to measure an institution’s research activity. Along with other indicators like refereed publications, citation counts, commercialization of research discoveries, and scholarly awards, they provide a quantification of the impact from a university’s collective scholarship.

Last fiscal year, 21 universities surpassed the one billion dollar R and D mark. This year, 24 did so. As it has for decades, Johns Hopkins University headed the list of academic institutions, with $3.18 billion in total R and D. The rest of the top 5 were:

University of California, San Francisco - $1.71 billion

University of Michigan - $1.64 billion

University of Pennsylvania - $1.63 billion

University of Washington - $1.49 billion.

Rounding out the top ten were:

University of California, Los Angeles - $1.45 billion

University of California, San Diego - $1.43 billion

University of Wisconsin - $1.38 billion

Stanford University - $1.27 billion

Harvard University - $1.25 billion

Heading ranks 11 through 25 was Duke University at $1.24 billion, followed, in order, by:

Ohio State University - $1.24 billion

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - $1.21 billion

Cornell Universit y - $1.18 billion

Yale University - $1.17 billion

Texas A & M University - $1.15 billion

University of Maryland - $1.14 billion

University of Pittsburgh - $1.14 billion

U. Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Cente r - $1.12 billion

Georgia Tech University - $1.11 billion

Columbia University - $1.10 billion

University of Minnesota - $1.07 billion

New York University - $1.06 billion

Vanderbilt University - $1.02 billion

Washington University, St. Louis - $989 million

Among the leading academic fields receiving R&D funds:

• The Health Sciences topped the list with a total of $29.88 billion in expenditures.
• They were followed by Biological and Biomedical Sciences at $16.56 billion.
• Engineering (and all its subfields) was third with $14.29 billion.
• Rounding out the top five research fields were the Agricultural Sciences with $3.55 billion and Geosciences, Atmospheric Sciences and Ocean Sciences with $3.30 billion.
• Other fields with R&D expenditures exceeding the one billion dollar threshold in FY 2020 were Computer and Information Sciences with $2.95 billion, Physics ($2.46 billion), Chemistry ($2 billion), Education ($1.62 billion), and Psychology ($1.33 billion).

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How research universities are evolving to strengthen regional economies

Subscribe to the brookings metro update, case studies from the build back better regional challenge, joseph parilla and joseph parilla senior fellow & director of applied research - brookings metro @joeparilla glencora haskins glencora haskins senior research analyst and applied research manager - brookings metro @glencorah.

February 9, 2023

When asked how to build a great city, the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Create a great university and wait 200 years.” Indeed, America’s network of research universities is one of its greatest sources of talent, entrepreneurship, and research and development—three inputs that in combination can fuel prosperity in the regions that surround those universities.   

Yet, while most strong regional economies have a leading research university, the reverse is not always true. That is because the link between university research, commercialization, and broader regional development is neither automatic nor immediate. Some universities are better at engaging with their surrounding industries and communities, and some regions have industries and communities that are more ready to translate the knowledge universities produce into economic development.  

The reality is that regional economies are complex, and their outcomes are influenced by countless interactions between markets and institutions—including but not limited to large research universities. Many inputs matter to regional economic development (e.g., business growth, job creation, skilled workers, well-planned built environments), but each is determined by separate regional systems that too often remain unintegrated. In other words, economic development is a “multi-system” process, but regions struggle with effective multi-system governance.   

A new wave of federal place-based economic policies led by the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the National Science Foundation is seeking to change this dynamic through larger-scale, longer-term competitive challenge grants that bring together networks of institutions, including research universities, around a targeted economic opportunity. And in addition to their sizable resources, these challenge grants are designed to catalyze multi-system strategies by requiring a lead regional entity to coordinate organizations across those systems.   

While many types of regional institutions could serve this function, research universities are increasingly embracing this role because they understand that regional economic impact requires blending university-based research and talent, industry partnerships, and coordinated governance. Drawing on one of those programs—the EDA’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge —this post explores some of the most promising multi-system economic strategies that research universities are leading.   

Research universities’ regional economic impact depends on their relevance to surrounding industries and communities  

There is a wide body of literature documenting the positive economic impact of research universities. Regions that became home to a land grant university over a century ago have stronger economies today as a result. Increasing state funding to research universities leads to higher levels of local patenting and entrepreneurship. And for each new university patent, researchers estimate 15 additional jobs are created outside the university in the local economy. Indeed, as Daniel P. Gross and Bhaven N. Sampat write , major national research and development efforts (such as those during World War II) tend to shape the geography of American innovation via research universities.   

In a nation plagued by regional economic divides, research universities are a uniquely distributed innovation asset. Unlike innovation sector employment , high-growth startups , and venture capital , research universities are spread across the entire nation. Over 200 research universities located in all 50 states expend more than $50 million annually on research and development.   

Yet, there are limits to universities’ impact. In a comprehensive review of the literature, economists E. Jason Baron, Shawn Kantor, and Alexander Whalley offer three takeaways: “First, universities’ ability to affect their local economies solely through the supply of college graduates is limited. Second, the main channel by which universities can affect their local economies is through highly localized knowledge spillovers. Third, the literature provides little evidence that establishing a new university in the 21st century is sufficient to revitalize a lagging community and transform its economy. To help revive struggling regions, using existing nearby universities could be a far more cost-effective policy tool.”   

In other words, knowledge spillovers to surrounding firms and industries are strongest when university-generated knowledge is highly complementary to industry needs.  

Federal place-based industrial policies are linking research universities with local industry clusters and surrounding communities  

Against this backdrop, new federal programs are pushing research universities to deploy their talent and knowledge in ways that strengthen the industry clusters that surround them. Finding that knowledge-industry nexus was a central strategic exercise for the 60 finalists in the EDA’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) , which asked applicants to craft five-year strategies that invest in advanced industry clusters in ways that benefit historically excluded communities.   

Research universities played a fundamental role in the competition. [1]  Among the 60 finalist coalitions, research universities served as the quarterback organization in 12, and participated in a supporting role in another 29. Over one-third of the EDA’s investments were awarded to research universities (although many universities are passing those resources on to partners).   

How did research universities propose to use that money? In our recent report analyzing the BBBRC, we categorized cluster projects into five categories: talent development; research and commercialization; infrastructure and placemaking; entrepreneurship and capital access; and governance. While research universities are, unsurprisingly, most heavily concentrated in research (41% of overall funding) and talent development (26%), they also proposed a significant number of projects related to tailored infrastructure and innovation facilities, entrepreneurship accelerators and incubators, and regional governance.   

The BBBRC exemplifies how research universities can anchor multi-system economic strategies  

Catalyzing and growing clusters requires investing in talent, research and development, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure. But regions often struggle to marshal the fiscal, political, and institutional capacity needed to overcome fragmentation in innovation, entrepreneurship, research, workforce, and industry leadership systems and act at a multi-system scale.   

Operating at a multi-system scale requires a quarterback organization to coordinate goals, strategies, and investments across those systems. Many types of entities can play this role, but research universities are natural candidates due to their relatively large scale and critical role in fueling innovation ecosystems.  

University utilization of BBBRC dollars signifies the potential for research universities to be a fulcrum for multi-system strategies. Indeed, one-third of the research universities in the BBBRC finalist coalitions proposed multi-system strategies, meaning they proposed to lead investments in at least three of the five project categories listed above.  

For example, through the New Energy New York (NENY) coalition , Binghamton University is seeking to reorganize the Southern Tier area of upstate New York into a hub for battery manufacturing and energy storage. The university’s multi-system approach will advance the cluster’s talent pool, supply chain, and supportive physical infrastructure. And through the NENY Workforce Development Initiative, the university will partner with other coalition members in higher education to expand existing workforce development programs and develop new training curricula. This partnership will implicate many of the region’s community colleges (including State University of New York [SUNY] Corning and SUNY Broome) and other research universities (including the Rochester Institute of Technology) in reducing the cluster’s barriers to entry and cultivating a diverse pool of well-trained employees to move into its high-wage jobs.  

Binghamton University will supplement these workforce development efforts through their NENY Supply Chain Program, where they will partner with the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology (AMT), NY-BEST, Empire State Development, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and other coalition members and industry partners to expand and improve the cluster’s supply chain. The expansion of this supply chain will enhance the region’s demand for skilled talent in the battery sector and create high-wage jobs for participants in the Workforce Development Initiative. These initiatives will support Battery-NY, the NENY coalition’s hub of infrastructure and industry experts working to advance energy storage technology, support cluster manufacturers, and attract businesses to the region.  

Georgia Tech has also proposed operating across multiple systems to bolster advanced manufacturing across the state through the Georgia AI Manufacturing (GA-AIM) coalition. To prepare the state’s future workforce, Georgia Tech will partner with Spelman College and the Technical College System of Georgia on degree and non-degree training options in artificial intelligence. As a complement, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) will promote the adoption of AI technology among small and medium-sized enterprises in rural communities across the state, creating demand for those newly trained workers. On governance, the Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Connect to Hire program will seek to connect historically excluded communities to these talent development and innovation initiatives. Finally, Georgia Tech is investing in new physical centers to enable commercialization and startup growth.  

Further west, the University of Nebraska is a major implementation partner to Invest Nebraska in the  Heartland Robotics Cluster ’s efforts to accelerate the state’s agricultural technology sector. The Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NM-EP) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources will identify small, medium-sized, and startup manufacturers in rural and urban communities across the state and create a supply chain database connecting them to high-quality suppliers. In addition, the NM-EP will help these manufacturers integrate new robotics technologies into their existing production systems. And as part of the Heartland Robotics Cluster’s commitment to workforce development, the NM-EP’s technology adoption program will provide credentialing and certification to participating manufacturers for cooperative robotic technologies.  

In future work, we will profile the implementation of comprehensive university approaches to learn more about how these strategies play out. But these three examples suggest that several elements are necessary to work at a multi-system scale. First, universities must have existing innovation assets that industries value; in each example above, universities are working from existing strengths, not trying to build from scratch. Second, those universities need to have the staff, systems, and staying power to work with other organizations in the region, from government agencies to economic development organizations to community colleges, workforce boards, and community-based organizations. Often, this requires an entrepreneurial leader that can create and sustain strong working and personal relationships with other community leaders. And third, there typically needs to be an external funding source, such as a federal or state program, to rally regional actors around a more ambitious strategy. In this case, the BBBRC provided exactly that type of “jump-ball” funding effect.  

While multi-system approaches will not be feasible in every region, the BBBRC illustrates that when the conditions are ripe, universities, industry, and communities can pursue a more systemic approach to regional economic development.   

This report was prepared by Brookings Metro using federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070081 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.  

1.“Research universities” include universities that award a minimum of 20 research-based doctoral degrees and spend at least $5 million on research per academic year. Universities are categorized according to the 2021 Carnegie Classifications of Higher Education Institutions based on data collected in the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey.

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The Technology Behind America’s Top Research Universities

Alexandra Shimalla is a freelance journalist and higher education writer.

As their name suggests, research universities share one primary characteristic: Their overarching mission is to conduct new research.

The American Association of Universities defines a research university  as one with a “serious and pervasive commitment to research; the excellence, breadth and volume of their research outputs; and the way in which a research culture permeates all of their activities, from teaching and learning to their engagement with business, government and the broader community.”

6 High-End Tools Fueling Research

Behind the research lies a mix of faculty expertise, support staff and cutting-edge technology.

The high-end tools in the following categories are just some of the emerging technology research universities are using today:

1. Wi-Fi Networks

The University of Michigan is the first institution in the world to  install a Wi-Fi 6E network  on a broad scale: It spans their entire campus. Researchers need to gather and analyze data at high speeds, so the network was deployed to “support data movement and data research,” says Ravi Pendse, the university’s CIO and vice president of IT. “Let’s say you and your colleagues are in the same room, but now each of you has the ability to pull down as much as 800 megabits of bandwidth per second with no issues at all.”

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2. Supercomputing

A laptop has one central processing unit, but  the Sol supercomputer at Arizona State University  runs on thousands of CPUs.

“Think about your iPhone, which may have 6 gigabytes of memory to run programs. Sol contains  five large memory nodes with 2 terabytes each  — that’s 2,000 gigabytes of system RAM,” says Douglas Jennewein, senior director of the Research Technology Office at ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise.

Sol also employs hundreds of graphical processing units, which are used for machine learning and 3D modeling and simulation.

The University of Michigan also has advanced computing technology, the  Great Lakes  high-performance computing cluster, which contains 13,000 CPUs and assists researchers with projects involving simulations, modeling, machine learning, data science and genomics.

WATCH NOW:   Accelerating university research with network upgrades.

3. Data Storage

As humans, we generate vast amounts of information in our lifetimes, and this ever-growing collection of data needs to be available for research. At the University of Michigan, data stores increase by 1 petabyte every two months. That’s 1 million GB every other month, all of which requires both primary and backup storage.

Institutions rely on a mix of on-premises storage and cloud-based services — neither of which are cheap — to solve the storage problem. For example, although the cloud is popular, it’s not always the answer for research. “Providing the right kind of storage ecosystem has almost become an art,” says Pendse.

The cloud is not the best option for constant, daily downloading and uploading of data. This use drives the cost up significantly.

“Where you store the data is really dependent on how you’re using the data,” says Shafaq Chaudhry, director of research technology at the University of Central Florida .

Factors to consider include how often data needs to be accessed and what other services, such as workflow automation, are needed.

ASU uses high-speed, parallel file storage to support simultaneous data analysis on supercomputers. With 18,000 CPUs, Sol can access information and at the same time run multiple simulations or analysis rapidly.

“If you’re doing massive, distributed simulations, you have to have all these different CPUs writing data, presenting simulation data or reading data analytics from the same location at the same time. It’s very high-speed, high-capacity data storage, which lends itself well to advanced computing,” says Jennewein.

LEARN MORE:   Integrated storage solutions reduce silos for researchers.

4. Secure Infrastructure

Every project requires a different level of security. Researchers often must work within the constraints of grant requirements, federal government contracts, a sponsoring company’s proprietary data rules or data privacy regulations such as HIPPA. In addition, even when research is based on public data, it is still considered intellectual property that needs to be protected from tampering or theft.

Maintaining a heightened level of cybersecurity is paramount. “The floor of cybersecurity is starting to be closer to the roof,” says Chad Macuszonok, assistant vice president of research IT at the University of Central Florida.

5. Common Licenses

It might come as a surprise to see Zoom , Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive listed as research tools, but these general licenses are just as important in facilitating research. “Having these types of tools that people don’t always think about becomes critical,” says Pendse.

Adobe Creative Cloud, for example, is useful for documenting research and illustrating results.

Arguably the most important tool at research universities, the people who make up the research technology departments include a conglomerate of experts in coding, data analysis and storage, computing, and a host of other niche tech domains. Their job is to help faculty use the high-end tools that power academic research .

“Whereas a typical IT department would set up general-purpose tools and areas that anyone can use, our team supports research,” says Chaudhry. For example, she says, every project must be considered on a granular level, looking at what capabilities the researcher needs — such as the ability to collaborate with other institutions — and how the data needs to be formatted.

While faculty devote themselves to their research, the support team handles the logistics of using the high-end technology, such as grant directives and security requirements, coding and software development, data analysis and system engineering.

DISCOVER:  Scaling the future of research computing in the cloud.

Also, given their bird’s-eye view of research across an institution, research technology staff can often help connect researchers from different disciplines who may be working on similar problems, find local organizations that researchers can partner with, or identify resources at other institutions that faculty can use.

“As research facilitators, we have to be aware of not only what the university has, but also what’s available regionally and nationally, while understanding what the research requires,” says Chaudhry.

Every faculty member has unique needs and a unique project, which is where this “dream team” comes into play, explains Pendse.

“Our goal is to support world-class research and teaching using frictionless interfaces,” he says. “We want to ensure that faculty members are focused on their core competencies and don’t have to worry about figuring out the technology. How can we meet you where you are? We want to provide user-centric, researcher-centric technology.”

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Opinion | Biden administration proposal threatens…

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Opinion | Biden administration proposal threatens innovative research at universities across the country

UCLA just purchased a 700,000-square-foot property in Westwood that it’s planning to remodel into a state-of-the-art research park for quantum science, immunology, immunotherapy, and other high-tech fields. UCLA has billed the park as the “future home of discoveries that will change the world.”

Despite such visionary local leadership, however, policymakers in Washington are poised to scuttle innovation at universities across the country. The Biden administration plans to reinterpret a decades-old law, the Bayh-Dole Act, that is at the heart of university-based research and development.

The proposal would affect patents on any invention arising from federally funded research. It asserts the federal government’s supposed authority to “march in” and effectively seize patents when officials think a product’s price is too high.

In essence, the federal government wants to control the price of university-based innovations. Doing so would blow up the “technology transfer” system that turns breakthrough discoveries into real solutions. Products on the chopping block include life-saving therapies and quantum computers.

This would set us back to before 1980, when the government maintained control over all patents associated with federal funding. Because Washington had neither the capacity nor incentive to commercialize these inventions, and universities cannot make and sell products on their own, publicly funded breakthroughs rarely yielded tangible benefits.

Bayh-Dole solved this problem by allowing universities and other federally funded research institutions to retain patent rights for their discoveries. That enabled them to partner with private businesses that bring their inventions to market. In turn, universities collect royalties that support more students and more research, creating a continuous cycle of innovation.

Bayh-Dole unlocked the vast innovation potential of America’s universities. Before Bayh-Dole, federally funded research had produced roughly 30,000 patents, but the government had licensed fewer than 1,500 for commercialization. In comparison, 2022 alone saw nearly 17,000 patent applications filed for federally funded discoveries and almost 10,000 licenses executed. The Act supports millions of jobs, has helped launch over 17,000 start-ups, and has contributed around $2 trillion to U.S. output.

UCLA’s new research park helps illustrate Bayh-Dole’s influence. Google, which supported UCLA’s acquisition of the site, was founded to commercialize a patented search engine algorithm from Stanford University. Meanwhile, it was a revolutionary drug developed by UCLA faculty that sparked the launch of the field of cancer immunotherapy, a primary focus of the new park.

Private sector partners are critical for bringing such university innovations to market, and they rely on patents to justify their investment. If the government casts doubt on the reliability of these patents, firms will hesitate to license and develop early-stage research. Unfortunately, the new patent seizure plan will do just that.

The administration maintains it will only exercise this newfound authority when prices are “unreasonable,” whatever that means. But if the government can decide the level of profitability, especially based on such arbitrary, unpredictable standards, the private sector will avoid all promising inventions generated from federal funds. In the end, they will not reach the public.

Not only is the proposal bad policy, it is also illegal. The Bayh-Dole Act does not give the administration price-control authority. In fact, the law’s bipartisan architects, Senators Birch Bayh and Bob Dole, explicitly cautioned against it. And every single presidential administration, from both parties, has consistently declined to use the law to regulate prices.

UCLA envisions the new research park as “bring[ing] scholars from different higher education institutions, corporate partners, government agencies and startups together to…achieve breakthroughs that will serve our global society.” This type of cooperation has become the norm under Bayh-Dole. It will end abruptly if the Biden administration rewrites the rules of the game.

Fortunately, there are better approaches to improving access to drugs and other technologies. UCLA, for example, recently partnered with the UN’s Medicines Patent Pool and the student-led UAEM (Universities Allied for Essential Medicines) to require that licenses include an Affordable Access Plan for low- and middle-income countries. Leaving the crafting of such plans to private-public partnerships makes more sense than Washington big-footing it.

UCLA is investing $500 million in developing the new research park. The private sector will add much more. But for these investments to ultimately benefit the public, the Biden administration must lay off Bayh-Dole.

Amir Naiberg serves as associate vice chancellor and president & CEO of UCLA Technology Development Corporation. Andrei Iancu served as the undersecretary of Commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 2018 to 2021 and serves as board co-chair of the Council for Innovation Promotion.

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Student-led Showcase Puts Innovative Art Research on Display at CMU

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With forsythia petals canopied in archlike form above these words in Korean, Bethany Hwang pays homage to a loved one lost during the pandemic: “The meaning of life prevails despite the disappearance of existence.” In a different model, bearing the same vibrant yellow, handmade simulacra of these flowers rise and fall, timed to the exact breaths of her late grandmother. On sheets of paper covering walls, the flower’s form pushes through abstractions of black and gray, persisting in spite of dark conditions.

Hwang joined six other Carnegie Mellon University students to showcase transdisciplinary research during six-minute sessions in the B*A series. The presentations were held in the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry on March 1 (opens in new window) . The event spanned two hours and allowed presenters in the College of Fine Arts to mingle, share artistic discoveries and creations, and consider the work of their peers.

What goes into a B*A presentation?

B*A presentations give students the chance to explore topics that they may not have the chance to in the traditional four-year structure offered by most universities. The yearly presentations also provide an opportunity for students to show progress, potential and outcomes of their personal research work.

The presentations do not have to relate to students’ current degree programs or coursework. They have full discretion to present research on a topic through a medium of their choosing. “It’s great for students who are self-motivated, and believe their interests will persist regardless of their status as a student,” said Harrison Apple (opens in new window) , associate director for the STUDIO. “They can put something out into the world, and have a chance to talk about their work without the pressure of evaluation.”

Emmanuel Lugo (opens in new window) , a senior pursuing a bachelor of fine arts, ran this year’s B*A event alongside College of Fine Arts junior Dariyah Scott. Both Lugo and Scott gave presentations this year in addition to organizing the event: Lugo on world-renowned biologist Lynn Margulis (discoverer of endosymbiosis) and her descent into conspiracy theories, and Scott on a technical demonstration of audio engineering techniques. 

“Being able to present and also hear what other people are doing and gain inspiration from them is really useful,” Scott said. “I have experience doing live performances, but this was an opportunity to try something new.”

Some of the presentations, more theoretical in nature, showed the value of exploring specific concepts. Ilyas Khan, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor of humanities and arts (opens in new window) ,   presented on the local history of art and activism and his work with Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh. Anastasia Jungle-Wagner, another sophomore from the School of Art, briefly explored the idea and conditions of “kitsch.”

Other talks focused on works of art created by the students. Scott Liu, a sophomore from the School of Art, showcased outcomes of practice across various styles. Sophomore Lorie Chen, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science and Arts degree (opens in new window) , explored the idea of creating bloblike shapes via computational means.

“You have six guaranteed minutes of everyone’s attention. It’s a really great place to practice speaking skills,” Jungle-Wagner said.“It’s an informal way of networking, and for a few people, it’s their first time even doing something like that.” 

The Past and Future of B*A

“These students are the reason that it keeps going,” Apple said. “It’s word-of-mouth and part of the culture of the STUDIO.”

Many presenters choose to participate in B*A because of the already-interdisciplinary nature of their studies. Several are enrolled in CMU’s BXA Intercollege Degree Programs (opens in new window) , which sponsored the event and allows students to pursue coursework and research across multiple schools and colleges. While it borrows its naming convention from the program, B*A is not limited to participation by BXA students. Many are CFA students. 

“B*A grew out of the fact that there’s this independent, self-motivated drive among students to take their research and explain what they find interesting to other people,” Apple said.

Because this drive takes so many different forms, the event’s organizers said more students outside of the College of Fine Arts should feel encouraged to participate in the future. “We’ve talked about it being more open to those outside of the School of Art,” Scott said. “There are opportunities for things to become interdisciplinary, and for collaboration, even if they’re not at that point yet.”

In addition to more participation, Lugo said he’d like to see changes made to the structure of B*A to give students more flexibility in what and how they present. “Across the whole university, what does cross-disciplinary art look like?” he said. “I would like to see it not so afraid to get technically focused or in the weeds of certain things. What we do now is great, but there might be room for other fields like STEM.”

Jungle-Wagner plans on participating again. They said B*A is an example of why having more presentation options for students outside of the lecture hall or classroom is important. “People can really come as they are,” they said. “They can share their interests beyond the critique setting, and people will be excited to hear it.”

Thanks to a pledged gift from STUDIO alumnus Dan Moore, B*A will receive an endowment in 2024. The Moore Family Fund will be the first dedicated source of funding for the event’s operations, and will allow a random participant to receive a monetary award for participating.

What is the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO?

The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry was created under the Office of the Dean of the College of Fine Arts in 1989. For over 30 years, it has supported boundary-pushing research across the arts, science, technology and culture through artist residencies, courses, event programming, workshops and exhibitions. The STUDIO supports CMU faculty and staff through multiple grant-funding streams including the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund, the Steiner Visitor Invitation Grant, the XRTC Creative Research Grant and the STUDIO’s Director’s Fund. Each year the STUDIO’s team stewards over $100,000 in creative research support and programming support across the College of Fine Arts’ five schools and throughout the university as a whole.

“What brought me to all of these different things was the STUDIO,” Scott said. “I think it’s the perfect place for people who want to do a lot of different things. Having people find it can be difficult, but if you’re one of those people who wants to find a community, then we are your community. There’s so much equipment, so much support, that the skills you can learn from being there are invaluable.”

Apple said the event is an important opportunity to bring students into an independent and open environment like the STUDIO.

“Students aren’t doing this in order to secure a spot in a class or have their GPA rise. There’s not a prize. You can’t win,” Apple said. “This is so much more focused on what would happen if you were to give your time to your classmates, and really helps participants learn how to share their interests as research for research’s sake.”

“I think it’s really a big part of what makes coming to CMU’s College of Fine Arts worth it,” Apple said.

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April 3, 2024

SK hynix announces semiconductor advanced packaging investment in Purdue Research Park

SK hynix announced Wednesday (April 3) semiconductor advanced packaging investment in Purdue Research Park. From left to right: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb; Kwak Noh-jung, SK hynix president and CEO; Woojin Choi, SK hynix executive vice president; Arati Prabhakar, director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and assistant to the president for science and technology; Mung Chiang, Purdue University president (speaking); Arun Venkataraman, U.S. Department of Commerce assistant secretary; U.S. Sen. Todd Young; Hyundong Cho, ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States; David Rosenberg, Indiana secretary of commerce; Mitch Daniels, Purdue Research Foundation chairman. (Purdue University/Kelsey Lefever)

The company's facility for AI memory chips marks the largest single economic development in the history of the state

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — SK hynix Inc. announced Wednesday (April 3) that it plans to invest close to $4 billion to build an advanced packaging fabrication and R&D facility for AI products in the Purdue Research Park. The development of a critical link in the U.S. semiconductor supply chain in West Lafayette marks a giant leap forward in the industry and the state. 

“We are excited to build a state-of-the-art advanced packaging facility in Indiana,” said SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung. “We believe this project will lay the foundation for a new Silicon Heartland, a semiconductor ecosystem centered in the Midwest Triangle. This facility will create local, high-paying jobs and produce AI memory chips with unmatched capabilities, so that America can onshore more of its critical chip supply chain. We are grateful for the support of Gov. Holcomb and the state of Indiana, of President Chiang at Purdue University, and of the broader community involved, and we look forward to expanding our partnership in the long run.”

SK hynix joins Bayer, imec, MediaTek, Rolls-Royce, Saab and many more national and international companies bringing innovation to America's heartland. The new facility — home to an advanced semiconductor packaging production line that will mass-produce next-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips, the critical component of graphic processing units that train AI systems such as ChatGPT — is expected to provide more than a thousand new employment opportunities in the Greater Lafayette community. The company plans to begin mass production in the second half of 2028.

The project marks SK hynix’s intention for long-term investment and partnership in Greater Lafayette. The company’s decision-making framework prioritizes both profit and social responsibility while promoting ethical actions and accountability. From infrastructure developments that make accessing amenities easier to community empowerment projects such as skill development and mentorship, the SK hynix advanced packaging fabrication marks a new era of collaborative growth.

“Indiana is a global leader in innovating and producing the products that will power our future economy, and today’s news is proof positive of that fact,” said Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. “I’m so proud to officially welcome SK hynix to Indiana, and we’re confident this new partnership will enhance the Lafayette-West Lafayette region, Purdue University and the state of Indiana for the long term. This new semiconductor innovation and packaging plant not only reaffirms the state’s role in the hard-tech sector, but is also another tremendous step forward in advancing U.S. innovation and national security, putting Hoosiers at the forefront of national and global advancements.” 

Investment in the Midwest and Indiana was spurred by Purdue’s excellence in discovery and innovation and its track record of exceptional R&D and talent development through collaboration. Partnerships among Purdue, the corporate sector, and the state and federal government are essential to advancing the U.S. semiconductor industry and establishing the region as the Silicon Heartland.

“SK hynix is the global pioneer and dominant market leader in memory chips for AI,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “This transformational investment reflects our state and university’s tremendous strength in semiconductors, hardware AI and development of the Hard-Tech Corridor. It is also a monumental moment for completing the supply chain of the digital economy in our country through the advanced packaging of chips. Located at Purdue Research Park, the largest facility of its kind at a U.S. university will grow and succeed through innovation.”

In 1990 the U.S. was producing nearly 40% of the world’s semiconductors. However, as manufacturing moved to Southeast Asia and China, the U.S. global output of semiconductor manufacturing has fallen to closer to 12%.

“SK hynix will soon be a household name in Indiana,” said U.S. Sen. Todd Young. “This incredible investment demonstrates their confidence in Hoosier workers, and I’m excited to welcome them to our state. The CHIPS and Science Act opened a door that Indiana has been able to sprint through, and companies like SK hynix are helping to build our high-tech future.” 

To aid in bringing semiconductor manufacturing closer to home and shoring up global supply chains, the U.S. Congress introduced the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS and Science Act, on June 11, 2020. Signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 9, 2022, it funds holistic development of the semiconductor industry to the tune of $280 billion. It supports the nation's research and development, manufacturing, and supply chain security of semiconductors.

“When President Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, he put a stake in the ground and sent a signal to the world that the United States cares about semiconductor manufacturing,” said Arati Prabhakar, President Biden’s chief science and technology advisor and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “Today’s announcement will strengthen the economy and national security, and it will create good jobs that support families. This is how we do big things in America.”

Purdue Research Park, one of the largest university-affiliated incubation complexes in the country, unites discovery and delivery with easy access to Purdue faculty experts in the semiconductor field, highly sought-after graduates prepared to work in the industry, and vast Purdue research resources. The park also offers convenient accessibility for workforce and semitruck traffic, with access to I-65 just minutes away.

This historic announcement is the next step in Purdue University’s persistent pursuit of semiconductor excellence as part of the Purdue Computes initiative. Recent announcements include these

• Purdue University Comprehensive Semiconductors and Microelectronics Program
• A strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes to improve, accelerate and transform semiconductor workforce development
• European technology leader imec opens innovation hub at Purdue
• The nation’s first comprehensive Semiconductor Degrees Program
• Purdue continues to create unique lab-to-fab ecosystem for the state and country
• Green2Gold, a collaboration between Ivy Tech Community College and Purdue University to grow Indiana’s engineering workforce

What they’re saying

• “This decision by a world-renowned, best-in-class company represents a dramatic fulfillment of Purdue’s duty to serve the state as not only its premier academic institution but also its No. 1 economic asset. It’s also a gratifying validation of our Discovery Park District initiative to bring new opportunities to our students, faculty and Greater Lafayette neighbors. Today marks the Purdue ecosystem’s latest and greatest, but assuredly not its last, contribution to a more prosperous Indiana and a stronger America.” — Mitch Daniels, chairman of the board, Purdue Research Foundation
• “On behalf of my fellow trustees, we are pleased to welcome SK hynix Inc. to the Purdue Research Park. Their arrival will significantly strengthen Purdue University’s dual commitments to educating the next generation of workforce leaders in semiconductors and supporting the national security of our nation.” — Michael Berghoff, chair, Purdue Board of Trustees
• “The impact of SK hynix is more than the creation of high-paying careers for Hoosiers. Undergraduates will have opportunities for internships, co-op and full-time employment when they graduate. Graduate students and faculty will work closely with SK hynix researchers, not only on basic research, but also to accelerate the transition of research into pilot production and manufacturing. This is just the beginning. As other companies see what’s happening here in the heart of the heartland, they’ll come too, and a significant new cluster of semiconductor manufacturing and research will emerge.” — Mark Lundstrom, chief semiconductor officer, Purdue University
• “West Lafayette is thrilled to join our national efforts to bring the semiconductor industry to the United States through President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act. This partnership will leverage Purdue University’s science and research expertise with SK hynix’s innovation in semiconductor technology. The impact on West Lafayette will enable us to continue to provide the high level of service our community expects and to increase our quality-of-life amenities for the region so we can attract and retain the excellent graduates of Purdue University. In addition, SK hynix’s global dedication to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, water process reduction and recycling, and zero-waste-to-landfill programs aligns with our community’s commitment to environmental stewardship. We are grateful for SK hynix’s investment and commitment to West Lafayette and for our partners Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation, the city of Lafayette, Tippecanoe County and the Greater Lafayette region.” — Erin Easter, mayor of West Lafayette
• “The pandemic disruption has shown the reliance on semiconductors, with production concentrated in limited regions around the world. Greater Lafayette has worked continuously and cooperatively for years to position ourselves for an opportunity of this magnitude, and we look forward to the long-term economic impact this will have on our communities. The collaborative efforts between cities and county governments, Purdue University, the state of Indiana and Sen. Todd Young’s office is a testament to these efforts. Our joint investments in infrastructure, innovation, along with quality-of-life initiatives, have contributed to this venture becoming a reality. We look forward to working with and welcoming SK hynix to Greater Lafayette!” — Tony Roswarski, mayor of Lafayette
• “Ivy Tech, as Indiana’s largest postsecondary institution, is focused on building Indiana talent pipelines aligned to employers and emerging industries which strengthen Indiana’s economy. The microelectronics industry will play a key role in Indiana’s success, which is why we are pleased to work with SK hynix and Purdue to provide training, credentials and degrees designed for the semiconductor industry. SK hynix’s commitment to Indiana reinforces that we all win when we address complex issues through strong partnerships." — Sue Ellspermann, president, Ivy Tech Community College
• “Semiconductors and microelectronics are at the forefront of focus for Purdue Research Foundation. I am pleased to welcome SK hynix to Indiana and start the hard work of ensuring this is the best business decision that SK hynix has ever made.” — Brian Edelman, president, Purdue Research Foundation
• “The Alliances team is thrilled to welcome SK hynix to the Purdue ecosystem, and we look forward to empowering them to thrive here in Indiana with all the immense assets Purdue and Greater Lafayette offer. We look forward to forging a strong relationship with mutual value for SK hynix, Purdue Research Foundation and the broader Greater Lafayette community for many years to come.” — Gregory Deason, senior vice president of alliances and placemaking, Purdue Research Foundation
• “During my time at Purdue Research Foundation, we have consistently been successful in assisting our partners like Saab in developing complex builds well ahead of schedule and within budget. I look forward to building on our excellent track record with SK hynix to help them in creating a state-of-the-art facility which best meets their unique needs.” — Richard Michal, senior vice president of capital projects and facilities, Purdue Research Foundation

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top-tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND   flash”)   and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at   www.skhynix.com ,   news.skhynix.com .  

About Purdue Research Foundation

Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts, administers trusts, funds scholarships and grants, acquires and sells property, protects and licenses Purdue's intellectual property, and supports creating Purdue-connected startups on behalf of Purdue. The foundation operates Purdue Innovates, which includes the Office of Technology Commercialization, Incubator and Ventures. The foundation manages the Purdue Research Park, Discovery Park District, Purdue Technology Centers and Purdue for Life Foundation.

For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at [email protected] . For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at [email protected] .

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives . 

Media contact:

Tim Doty, [email protected]

Note to journalists:   Photo, b-roll and sound bites from this announcement will be available for media use on   Google Drive .

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Weekly Research Update: Thursday, April 4, 2024

Discover USC 2024 is just around the corner

Organizers are excited to welcome the research community to Discover USC 2024 on Friday, April 19, 2024. This event is free and open to the public, and we hope to see you there. To make transportation as easy as possible, shuttles will run between the USC Horseshoe (on Sumter Street) and the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center from 8:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. Ready to plan your day at Discover USC? Use the Find a Presenter tool to look up presentations of interest, and export them to a spreadsheet so you can save the details. Keep your eyes on the Weekly Research Update for more details and the official Discover USC app, coming next week.

New open access agreement lets USC Columbia authors publish in Springer Nature journals at no cost

An agreement between the Carolina Consortium and Springer Nature gives USC Columbia corresponding authors the opportunity to publish articles in eligible Springer Nature journals free of charge. It’s one of a growing number of open access agreements made available by University Libraries. Open access publication is not only more affordable, it also allows scholars to make their work more discoverable and accessible to the global community. With more than 3,000 journals across a wide range of disciplines, Springer Nature is a leading publisher of academic research. Read more about this resource here . 

Need help with your data?

The University Libraries’ Research Data Analysis and Statistics Support Service is free and here to help you with: exploratory data analysis, statistical tests, SAS, SPSS, and NVivo. In-person and virtual appointments are available. Walk-ins are also welcome, although an appointment guarantees someone will be available to help you. To learn more and schedule an appointment, visit our service webpage . 

Faculty mentors: Remember to have undergraduate students register their research

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) wants to know about research involving undergraduate students across the USC system. It is easy for undergraduate students to report their research each semester through the OUR Research Registry . Registering undergraduate research projects helps the OUR recognize undergraduate researchers and their mentors, and helps the office demonstrate the significant role and value that research opportunities deliver for undergraduate students when they apply their learning beyond the classroom. Complete details about what research to report, when to report it and how are available on the webpage linked above. 

Research trainings 

The Office of the Vice President for Research is excited to offer a growing slate of training for USC faculty, staff and students, focusing on topics related to research and research administration. Each week, we will share our current offerings here, and provide complete information through our website . Please sign up at least 24 hours in advance of the session to ensure a spot.

Current Offerings (April 2024):

• April 11, 2024, 2:00-3:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams (Online)
• Register here
• April 16, 2024, 2:00-3:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams (Online)
• April 18, 2024, 2:00-3:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams (Online)

4 April 2024

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

Duke Kunshan University Humanities Research Center

Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Arts, Humanities, and Interpretive Social Sciences at Duke Kunshan University

Program for the Undergraduate Humanities Research Conference, April 26-27, 2024

Please note that this draft program is subject to revision. Register to attend the conference here by Friday, April 19, 2024.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

1200-1800 Arrival of visiting keynote speakers and presenters at DKU Conference Center.

1900 Dinner for visiting keynote speakers and visiting student presenters

Friday, April 26, 2024

0830 Registration and Coffee, AB Lobby

0900-1030 Opening Ceremony and Keynote Lecture: Roger Ames, AB1087

1030 Coffee Break

1100-1230 Parallel Sessions

1A: Media and Law in Contemporary China, AB3103

• Chengxi Lin, DKU, Indirect State Intervention in Chinese Social Media: Online Social Media Platforms’ Role as Regulator
• Jingyi Xu, BNU-HKBU United International College, Gamified Justice in Online Dispute Resolution: Engaging Users on China’s Food Delivery Platforms
• Yuxiang Lin, DKU, Hacktivism and the Reconfiguration of Rights and Power Relations in the Digital World

1B: Materials, Manufacturing, and Globalization, AB3105

• Ziyu Qiu, DKU, Transporting Textiles to the Frontier: Textile Trade between Jiangnan and Xinjiang in the Qianlong era
• Haoyi Wei, Wuhan University, The Story of Cigar: The Spread of Cuban Cigars in Modern China and Sino-Cuban Relations
• Emma Yun, DKU, Insights on Transitions in China’s Factory Culture and Mindset from the 1980s to Today

1C: Self, Voice, and Identity in Literature, AB3017

• Maryana Malyushytska, DKU, A Journey to Happiness: Exploring the Dialectic of Self-Love and Narcissism in William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
• Yuzhi Ruan, BNU-HKBU United International College, “The Housekeeping Days of an Indian Mother”: Re-envisioning the Mother-Daughter Relationship in Zitkala-Ša’s Autobiography
• Solana Torres, DKU, A Close Reading of “A Woman Speaks”: Audre Lorde’s Poem as Creation of Female Voice

1D: Student Seminar with Roger Ames, AB1087

1230-1400 Lunch  (Community Center Cafeteria)

1400-1530 Keynote Lecture: Ru Ye, AB1087

1530-1600 Coffee Break

1600-1730 Parallel Sessions

2A: Performativity in Chinese Art and Music  AB3103

• Dongkun Lyu, DKU, Passive Autonomy: Exhibition Worker and Art Field in Constant Transition
• Ruiqi Yu, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Unveiling the Mulan-like Situation: Cross Dressing and Gender Identity Construction in Chinese Yue Opera
• Mei Xing, Central Conservatory of Music, Reconstructing the “Nearby”: The Music Life of Youth in Beijing’s Rave Scene

2B: Global Politics, Power, and Empire, AB3105

• Arabela Iggesen Valenzuela, DKU, Colonized, Mortal, Baloch Bodies:The Impact of Neo-Colonialism on Premature Mortality in Balochistan
• Chillion Munyiri, DKU, Echoes of an Empire: How Colonial Legacies Continue to Define Contemporary Coffee Governance and Economic Outcomes in Kenya and Rwanda
• Muhammad Ajlal, DKU, To what Extent Have Social Media Made any Impact in Affecting the Israel-Hamas Conflict in terms of Political and Economic Issues?

2C: Chinese Literature in Socialist China, AB3107

• Daniela Torres Medina, DKU, Scar Literature and Cultural Revolution: Class Teacher Observations and Policy Impact in Society
• Siyu Song, University of Nottingham, Ningbo, Beyond “Good Wife Wise Mother”: Gender, Popular Literature, and Writing Woman’s Life in Manchuria, 1941-45
• Shuzhe Wang, DKU, From Icons to Critics: Gender Discourse of Iron Girls in China’s Socialist Transformation

2D: Student Seminar with Ru Ye, AB1087

1800 Self-Service Dinner for Student Presenters (Community Center Cafeterias)

1800 Dinner for DKU Faculty and Keynote Speakers (Off Campus). Prior registration is required for DKU faculty by April 19.

2000 Evening Program (TBD)

Saturday, April 27, 2024

0900-1030 Keynote Lecture: Hao Tang, AB1087

1030-1100 Coffee Break

1100-1130 Parallel Sessions

3A: Beliefs, Bodies, and Transcendence, AB3103

• Chen Chen, NYU Shanghai, Blood, Beliefs, and Bioethics: Navigating Controversies in Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Stance on Transfusions
• Dejia Zhang, Zhejiang University, Pricing the Consecration Rituals of Shibazi Bracelets: The Process and meaning of Adding Value in Buddhism Items
• Qicheng Zhang, Tongji University, On the Dual Dimensions of Immanence and Transcendence in Levinas’s Concept of “Home”
• Ziying Xu, Xiamen University, Defining Suffering: The Invisible Violence in the Globalization of Western Psychiatric Discourse

3B:  Fashion, Beauty, and the Male Gaze, AB3105

• Zhuoyuan Chen, DKU, Gendered Lens: Male Gaze in Anfu Road Street Photography
• Xinyue Yi, Hong Kong University, Being a Voyeur While Being Gazed: Voyeurism and the Fluid Power Relationship between the Performer and the Viewer in The House with Ocean View and Bye Bye Disco
• Isabelle Zhang, DKU, Fashion’s Empowering Power: Counterhegemonic Fashion in the Spring-Summer 1997 Season
• Shanyi Yang, Hong Kong University, “Is Barbie Feminist?” is a False Question

3C: Political Philosophy, AB3107

• Javier Portilla, DKU,  Fearlessness in a Society of Fearful People
• Yifan Bai, Renmin University of China,  On Acquired Natural Duty
• Xi Xiong, Wuhan University, Why is Political Liberalism Insufficient for Feminist Causes?
• Yunru Chen, Chongqing University, Cicero’s Imitation and Modification of Plato in the Somnium Scipionis

3D: Student Seminar with Ru Ye, AB1087

1230-1400 Lunch, Community Center Cafeterias

1400-1530 Keynote Lecture: Seth Jaffe, AB1087

4A: Poetry, Philosophy, and Ecology, AB3103

• Hao Gong, DKU, Communicating with the Soil: Reimagining the Nexus of Nature and Culture
• Jingwen Xu, Sun Yatsen University, An Analysis of Self-Realization of Deep Ecology in Seamus Heaney’s Poetry
• Dalia Guerrero Flores, DKU, Wisdom Without Frontiers: Classical Chinese Philosophy for Mexican Environmentalist Policies

4B: Gender in Digital East Asia, AB3105

• Vicky Yongkun Wu, DKU, The Ornamental Personhood: A Reparative Reading of K-Pop Femininity
• Fenglin Ju, NYU Shanghai, Digital Intimacy and Intermedia Storytelling in Chinese Otome Games: A Case Study of Light and Night (2021)
• Yaqi Li, Jinan University, Mirror of the Future: AI in the Reconstruction of Asian Beauty and Identity
• Dongni Huang, CUHK Shenzhen, From Boys’ Love to Gays’ Love: The Queer Relational Politics of Chinese Real-Person Slash (RPS) Fandoms

4C: Contemporary Chinese Culture and Discourse, AB 3107

• Yueqi Dou, DKU, Atypical Nianyefan: Negotiating Family Transformations in Contemporary China
• Renyuan Zhang, DKU, A Disappearing Discourse: Complex Conversations about the Shanghai Lockdown in the People’s Daily Weibo Matrix Posts of 2022
• Bin Cui, CUHK Shenzhen, Prepare for Apocalypse in China: An Ethnography of Chinese Preppers

4D: Student Seminar with Seth Jaffe, AB1087

1800 Gala Dinner and Closing Ceremony

All attendees are invited to attend a Gala Dinner and Closing Ceremony. Prior registration is required .

Selected Projects Will Address Energy Security Research and Training Needs for Each Unique Region

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $15 million in funding to establish six university-based electric power cybersecurity centers that will foster collaborations across the energy sector to address gaps in energy security research and provide cybersecurity education programs. Each university, selected by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), will partner with energy sector owners and operators, vendors, and DOE National Laboratories to conduct innovative cybersecurity research and develop cybersecurity trainings that will meet the needs of the energy workforce in their regions. The university-based cybersecurity centers directly align with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to bolstering secure energy infrastructure and a skilled energy workforce to tackle the existing and emerging cyber threats facing the sector. 

"This investment in university-based cybersecurity centers will enable us to simultaneously grow the U.S. cyber workforce and build the expertise we need to take on the evolving cyber threats to our nation's energy systems," said Director of CESER, Puesh M. Kumar. "The U.S. competitive advantage has always depended on cutting-edge research and a high-skilled workforce. Through these projects, we are advancing our economic and national security." 

The industry partnerships will help the university-based cybersecurity centers research cybersecurity capabilities that consider the distinctive characteristics of each region's electricity system, network of infrastructure, and workforce skills. Their research will combine multidisciplinary expertise, such as power system engineering and cybersecurity, to find solutions that will reduce the risk of power disruption resulting from a cyber-incident in an energy delivery system. The selected universities, listed below, will conduct the following research projects at their new cybersecurity centers: 

• The University of Connecticut (Mansfield, Connecticut) will develop tools to isolate and mitigate the effects of cyber attacks on distributed energy resources (DER) to quickly restore devices to operational states. The project will use data from across the Northeast region’s urban, suburban, and rural environments, making this work scalable to a variety of system operators and utilities. Project title: CyberCARED: Northeast University Cybersecurity Center for Advanced and Resilient Energy Delivery 
• The Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) will focus on improving the security and resilience of the distribution grid that includes DER and microgrids, including real-time cyber situational awareness for distribution management systems. Several project partners bring expertise in rural energy issues, which is key for implementing next-generation grid infrastructure. Project title: CyDERMS: Center for Cybersecurity & Resiliency of DERs and Microgrids-integrated Distribution Systems    
• The University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) will use digital twins to evaluate the effectiveness of protections for cyber attacks and assess the impact of cybersecurity compromises. Their diverse project partners will help focus the project on existing gaps in cybersecurity research. Project title: University of Pittsburgh Cyber Energy Center   
• The Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois) will address cybersecurity issues in DER and microgrids and understand how system operators can contribute to efficient cyber attack detection and response. They plan to distribute their findings through workshops, symposia, and trainings. Project title: 2MC: Midwest Center for Microgrid Cybersecurity   
• The Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas) will develop a single framework that addresses the various stages of cyber-physical attacks such as attack detection, prevention, impact analysis, and recovery plans. It will focus on DER integration on rural utilities within the Texas power grid. Project title: A Clean Energy and Rural Electric Industry-focused University Cyber-Physical Security Center   
• The Florida International University (Miami, Florida) will explore the moving target defense (MTD) technique as a way to prevent cyber attacks by “hiding” the system from the adversary. This could be especially useful in systems with communications channels that can easily be rerouted or switched. Project title: Center for Agile and Intelligent Power Systems (CAIPS): Cybersecurity Research, Development, and Workforce Training   

In addition to the research projects, the centers will also host a collection of cybersecurity education programs to equip energy professionals with the knowledge to safeguard the energy sector’s critical infrastructure from cybersecurity threats. 

For more information about DOE’s efforts to secure and protect America’s energy sector, visit www.energy.gov/ceser .