Texas Research Highlights

The University of Texas is proud to be one of the leading research institutions in the world. Each year, our researchers publish work that focuses on fighting and treating diseases, devising solutions to global problems, addressing critically important social issues, and improving the human condition.

FY21 RESEARCH EXPENDITURES BY SOURCE:

Source: FY21 Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey

Ranked No. 1 in research financed by the
National Science Foundation in FY20

among U.S. Universities

No. 3

In the world for most patents granted, UT System-wide.

No. 8

Among U.S. universities that granted the most research doctorates.

No. 19

Among U.S. universities in undergraduate research.

IN FY21:

6,821

externally sponsored projects

5,000+

peer-reviewed articles published

110

patents issued, U.S. and foreign

182

invention disclosures

671

active licenses

91

licenses executed

OVPR-LED INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AT UT

One of the goals of the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors is to encourage and enable researchers to work across academic silos to answer intriguing and important questions. Interdisciplinary collaboration lives in every college and school at The University of Texas at Austin, but these three programs are led by OVPR program directors and strategists.

Bridging Barriers Grand Challenges

UT researchers have designed and launched three grand challenges — major research initiatives that require expertise and insight from across academic disciplines. Together, they’re working to make tangible progress toward climate resiliency, reducing community health disparities, and designing values-driven artificial intelligence.

  • Planet Texas 2050 - A UT Grand Challenge
  • Whole Communities - Whole Health
  • Good Systems

Associate Professor Experimental (APX)

Introduced in 2018, APX is a design thinking and flash funding faculty retreat that gives newly tenured associate professors dedicated funds and focused time to envision new research directions with colleagues in diverse academic disciplines. Novel collaborations spring from unlikely pairings — architectural engineering and neuroscience, linguistics and journalism — during an annual three-day retreat each fall that inspires researchers to pursue interests beyond their home departments.

Newly promoted associate professors from across the Forty Acres convened for APX's inaugural workshop in 2018.

Research Interest Groups (RIGs)

Researchers know that global challenges can no longer be addressed within disciplinary silos, but many are often unaware of complementary work taking place in other departments or colleges. RIGs support collaboration among researchers from multiple fields when there are no existing groups or units on campus working on their topic. RIGs create a space where researchers can work collaboratively to create inventive solutions to pressing problems. UT has 10 RIGs, and the list continues to grow. Current interest groups include bio-inspired computing, spinal cord injuries, and space missions.

Imaging and Analysis RIG members got together for small group discussions during their symposium in 2019.

Collaboration across campus

Click on the interactive map below to see our academic connections, from the Forty Acres to TACC and the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.