Cornell received $554.76 million for research and development in 2003, more than any other school in New York state, according to a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) report. The numbers reflect research at Cornell's three campuses (Ithaca and the Weill Cornell medical colleges in New York and Qatar).

In 2003, New York state's colleges and universities invested a record $3.1 billion, up by 11 percent from the previous year, for research and development, according to the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research. The state investment was second only to California's $5.36 billion. Figures from 2003 are the most recent available.

"The fact that Cornell leads the state every year in this area is a direct result of the quality of our faculty and our proposals," said Joseph A. Burns, Cornell's vice provost for physical sciences and engineering. Burns also is the Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, and a professor of astronomy at Cornell. "The research and development industry wants the best people to work on things of importance."

Major recipients of research funding in the state in 2003, after Cornell, were Columbia University ($437.67 million), University of Rochester ($285.77 million), New York University ($241.59 million) and University of Buffalo ($240.18 million).

Cornell's top status in 2003 was partially due to $326.37 million in federal funding, according to a Cornell Office of Sponsored Programs 2003 research funding report. Cornell benefits because it excels in health, nanotechnology research and biotechnology, fields in which many federal grants are available. The rest of Cornell's funding comes from state and local governments, industry, foundations and nonprofit organizations. In 2002 Cornell received $496.12 million in total research funding, according to the NSF.

"Being New York state's land-grant university also gives us an advantage," said Burns, pointing out that roughly one-third of the money flowing to Cornell goes through the contract colleges, and that New York state provides almost $33 million a year to Cornell.

"If it weren't for land grant, it would be a lot harder to get this money," said Burns.

The top five disciplines receiving research and development funding within the university in 2003 were medical sciences, which includes Weill Cornell Medical College ($148 million), the physical sciences ($83 million), biology and life sciences ($72 million), engineering ($58 million) and agriculture ($56 million).