Research Overview
Introduction
This page, with its associated Highlights and tables (accessible from the left hand navigation) provides an overview of research at the University as well as its role in educating our students and providing service to Chicago and our broader community.
In fiscal year 2005, the University accepted in excess of $375 million in sponsored funding of which over 51% comes from the Department of Health & Human Services (mostly from the National Institutes of Health) and from the National Science Foundation (approximately 11%). (Further information: see University Research Administration). Gifts, endowments and contributions from alumni and friends of the University are not included in these data.
In addition, the UChicago Argonne, LLC (of which the University is the sole member) manages Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is a multi-purpose science laboratory of the Department of Energy with a $500 million annual budget and over 2,600 employees. Effective January 1, 2007, Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA), a partnership between the University and Universities Research Association Inc., began operating Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, which has a $300+ million annual budget and 2,000 employees.
Of the research support coming to the University, the major part is in the form of individual investigator grants. Many investigators have Web sites describing these research activities; they can be accessed either through departmental Web sites, or through a search of the University's Web site. Research Highlights provides video interviews and press coverage. Since some of the work described is in humanistic areas that are internally supported, this site is an important supplement to the listings of grant support to be discussed below.
Multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional activities extending beyond the natural sciences to include social sciences, the humanities, and the professional schools, are of increasing importance to the University’s research enterprise. Collaborations between the University, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, and other Chicago area research institutions extend our research reach to our mutual benefit. These collaborations are enhanced by joint centers, institutes, appointments and other affiliations. Yet other activities have a more immediate educational or societal impact. More detail of these activities can be accessed through the left hand navigation bar: University-Argonne Joint Centers; Multidisciplinary Institutes and Centers, Representative Research Grants, and Joint Appointments.
Please do contact us if a pertinent award has been omitted from one of these lists, or if you have questions.
Education and Outreach
Faculty researchers are actively engaged in undergraduate teaching, bringing leading-edge research into the classroom and providing undergraduates with a many opportunities to participate in research. Distinguished research scientists also obtain grants to enhance teaching (see, for example, Representative Research Grants, grants for David Meltzer, Leo Kadanoff, and Sidney Nagel).
The University is an active partner with the surrounding community, as well as with the city and state. This is reflected, in part, by topics chosen for some of the Centers (e.g., "Clinical Medical Ethics", or "Health Disparities" listed under the Biological Sciences; Environmental Research of various types; or "Aging, Race Politics and Culture", and "Urban School Improvement" listed under the Social Sciences).
The University of Chicago Office of the Vice President for Research and for Argonne National Laboratory strives to create and sustain partnerships with elementary and high schools and their students to provide an environment in which young students may experience the culture of science. Through programs such as Science and Technology Outreach and Mentoring Program that provides a series of activities designed to provide students with a fun, hands-on science experience and an opportunity to get to know scientists we hope to inspire student inquisitiveness and increase science literacy.
Faculty and students engage in many outreach activities to enrich K-12 education in Chicago and to attract underrepresented groups into higher education. The University's Office of Community Activities has a comprehensive listing of University outreach programs.
Knowledge Transfer and Economic Impact
While presentations at professional meetings and publication in professional journals are primary means of making research results public, University researchers transfer such knowledge to society in additional ways. Students who take jobs in the private or government sectors are a potent means of knowledge transfer. University researchers also use patents and commercialization as a third form of publication. Various offices in the University are involved in this function. These include Corporate Relations, UChicagoTech, and University Research Administration and, within the Office of the Vice President for Research and for National Laboratories, the Office for Partnerships and Technology.
Most inventions emanating from universities require considerable investment before they can be of value to society. Without such investment, they languish. The Office of Technology and Intellectual Property (UChicagoTech) bridges the often insurmountable gap between the laboratory and widespread use. Currently, UChicagoTech manages almost 300 technology commercialization agreements. Its earliest success, in which the University takes particular pride, is commercializing a new elementary mathematics curriculum, developed by University mathematicians. This curriculum met with little interest from traditional publishers even though the approach demonstrated clear benefits over existing curricula.
