University Spending on Research Was Up Slightly in 2013

New data released by the National Science Foundation show that research and development spending by universities -- from all sources -- edged up slightly, to $67.2 billion in 2013. When adjusted for inflation, that reflects an increase of less than half of a percent. The largest source of funds was the federal government, at $39.5 billion. The NSF also released data on which universities spend the most, a ranking led for many years by Johns Hopkins University, where a majority of the R&D funds are spent by the Applied Physics Laboratory.