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In 2023, Virginia Tech exceeded the strategic plan target for externally sponsored research expenditures two years early, an incredible achievement. For a second straight year, Virginia Tech’s research awards and expenditures grew more than 10 percent, with federal, state, local, and private research awards growing a combined 17 percent. This builds on exceptional success in fiscal year 2022, where, according to the most recent HERD survey, Virginia Tech outperformed national trends in growth of externally sponsored research, with 14 percent growth compared with a national average of 9 percent. Between FY21 and FY23, awards increased by 31 percent and expenditures increased by 28 percent.

Our success this year is a testament to the hard work of our research administration and staff, researchers, and students working together to fulfill our land-grant mission that supports impactful research, innovation, and discovery happening every day.

I’m looking forward to what we will accomplish in the new year!

Regards,

Dan Sui
Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation

By the Numbers

number of new awards
$650+M in research expenditures
17% year-over-year increase in research awards
4000+ faculty researchers
approximately 260 postdoctoral scholars
7 research institutes
$80 million-plus in corporate and foundation philanthropy
142 new invention disclosures
25 license deals

Research Expenditures

 

Top Virginia Tech Research News in 2023 

Virginia Tech Faculty Accolades

Virginia Tech in the News - Top Media Hits for 2023

Photo courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

“When I first started working on [airborne virus transmission] 15 years ago, I knew it was going to be a big deal because it was very clear to me that the conventional wisdom conflicted with physics [of how particles move in the air] and just was not possible.”

- Linsey Marr as featured in NPR

Research Podcast

This fall, the Curious Conversations podcast was launched, now with 16 episodes. The podcast is a series of free-flowing interviews that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Join university researchers as they share their expertise and motivations, as well as the practical applications of their work, in a way that more closely resemble chats at a cookout than classroom lecture. Stay tuned for the spring season.

Featured Episode - Semiconductors, packaging, and more with Christina Dimarino

Christina Dimarino joined the podcast to chat about semiconductors, the importance of packaging in onshoring their production, and what Virginia Tech is doing to excel workforce development in this field. She is assistant professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and assistant director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Power Electronics Systems, located at the Virginia Tech Research Center - Arlington.

Impact and Recognition

Virginia Tech faculty are winning competitively funded research awards and being selected as fellows and members of prestigious societies. They are highly cited by their peers, educating the brightest minds, and collaborating across disciplines, industry, and government to make the world a better place for all.

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