The UA was recently ranked by the National Science Foundation as the nation’s No. 1 university for research expenditures in the physical sciences. Beating Johns Hopkins University and the California Institute of Technology, the UA has become America’s best attractor of research funding for astronomy, physics and chemistry.
“”Our faculty, especially in the physical sciences has been very successful,”” said Leslie Tolbert, vice-president of research, graduate studies and economic development. “”They are among the best in the world and compete very well.””
The UA attracted more than $530 million for research from federal, state and private sources in the 2005 fiscal year, marking the first time that research and development expenditures have topped half a billion dollars in the school’s history, according to the National Science Foundation’s rankings.
Overall, the ranking among public research universities improved by one place, landing the UA in 13th. ÿ
Among all the public and private universities, it remained No. 21. ÿ
In addition to these rankings, the NSF also listed the UA as a top-25 institution in the areas of NASA funding (No. 4), agricultural sciences (No. 13), expenditures by institutions with medical schools (No. 19), NSF funding (No. 20), social sciences (No. 21), and mathematics and psychology (both No. 25).
“”The good thing about these rankings it that they’re not a beauty contest. It’s based on real facts and numbers,”” said UA President Robert Shelton.
The NSF rankings show how successful UA’s faculty is in receiving competitive grant money and that there are resources available for UA students to engage in active learning, he added.
Tolbert said she hopes that these rankings will increase the number of students applying to the UA based on its reputation in the sciences.
“”If you’re a high school student, you’d think of the UA as a place to come for doing hands-on research,”” she said.
“”It makes me feel good that I come here and you can actually tell, when we’re doing labs and stuff here, that it’s pretty intense work,”” said Raju Fingh, a biology sophomore. ÿ””I’m confident I’ll be well prepared for the future.””
