UF has joined select company by reaching $1 billion in annual research spending

David P. Norton
·4 min read
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There are only around 25 cities in the entire country that host a $1 billion per year university research enterprise. Gainesville is now one of those cities.

University of Florida faculty, staff and students in Gainesville and around the state have every reason to be extremely proud of UF’s announcement this week that we have surpassed our long-sought goal of $1 billion in research spending.

It is through the hard work of thousands of faculty, staff and students that UF has joined approximately 30 public and private universities in the U.S. with $1 billion in research expenditures.

While the research we do impacts people everywhere, the vast majority of the work happens here in Gainesville and at our research centers around the state, including multiple Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) facilities and UF Scripps Biomedical Research.

A researcher with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences places a plant grown during a lunar soil experiment in a vial for genetic analysis, at a laboratory in Gainesville. For the first time, scientists have used lunar soil collected by long-ago moonwalkers to grow plants, with results promising enough that NASA and others already are envisioning hothouses on the moon for the next generation of lunar explorers.

And it is here in Florida that the economic impact of that research is so important. The State University System of Florida estimates that research at the 12 state universities has a $4 billion economic impact, and UF accounts for over 40% of that research. Locally, the impact is even greater, especially if the many UF spinoff companies in the area are factored into the equation.

UF excels at translating research into impact through commercialization. UF’s success in technology transfer and company incubation has been recognized both nationally and internationally. Our Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator has, in the past 10 years, been named the top incubator in the world three times. Our newest incubator, the Hub, has also received global recognition as the best in its class.

A worker collects data at a laboratory inside the University of Florida's Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua.
A worker collects data at a laboratory inside the University of Florida's Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua.

Dozens of people in our community work in the companies housed in the Sid Martin and Hub incubators, and hundreds more work in spin outs from UF, like AGTC, Axogen, Sinmat and Exactech.

This past May, a nonpartisan think tank known as Heartland Forward released a study of all research universities in the U.S., comprehensively measuring the effectiveness of each at translating research discoveries into impact within the marketplace. This was not a beauty contest based on reputation; it was a metrics-driven assessment whose scoring placed a higher bar for large institutions versus smaller ones. According to this report, the University of Florida No. 2 among all U.S. universities at infusing research and discovery into private industry through commercializing discoveries and producing graduates in science and technology.

While $1 billion a year in research is a remarkable feat, it is the impact of our research in advancing knowledge, creating new technologies and powering Florida’s economy that really counts.

For example, UF Health has major research thrusts that are seeking cures for cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and other diseases, where scientists and physicians work together to create hope through new treatments and therapies for patients in Florida and beyond.

Through IFAS, UF ranks first among U.S. universities in total research spending for agriculture. With IFAS, Florida’s agricultural industry has the most powerful research engine in the country behind it, ensuring that farmers of almost 100 different commodities, from citrus to strawberries to pine trees, have the most recent science and technologies at their disposal.

At the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, faculty are shaping the future by developing new technologies for health care, resilient communities, cybersecurity and the connected world.

People walk around the atrium of the University of Florida's Herbert Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence building and labs during the dedication ceremony in Gainesville on Oct. 7.
People walk around the atrium of the University of Florida's Herbert Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence building and labs during the dedication ceremony in Gainesville on Oct. 7.

In fact, across all our 16 colleges and hundreds of centers and institutes, UF researchers are helping to make life better. They’re improving the effectiveness of teaching, whether in a classroom or online. They’re using the arts to give voice to communities and the individual. They’re exploring Mars for signs of life and preparing to sustain human life on the moon by growing plants in soil brought back from the Apollo 11 mission.

At UF, it is the impact of new discoveries that defines what our research is really all about — why we work so hard to secure funding and to be accountable for every dollar spent.

David P. Norton , vice president for research at the University of Florida
David P. Norton , vice president for research at the University of Florida

UF’s $1 billion-a-year research enterprise is essential for Florida’s citizens and for its future economy. We are changing the lives of people for the better in our state, our nation and around the world.

David P. Norton is the vice president for research at UF.

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: David Norton: UF's $1 billion in research benefits Gainesville, state