UC reaches $740M in research expenditures

Additionally, UC received $323 million in research awards in 2024, topping the previous year by 3% as it pursues new innovations across its colleges.

UC's research strength is also reflected in its ranking in the National Science Foundation's Higher Education Research and Development Survey for 2022-23, in which UC stands at No. 31 for public institutions and remains a top 50 university in the overall rankings (No. 49).

“Our research agenda at the University of Cincinnati has grown incredibly, thanks to the talents of our faculty researchers and their passion for discovery,” said UC President Neville Pinto, PhD. “I am also grateful to the research staff and graduate students who conduct research with them.” 

“Their collective success in attracting competitive research funding has enhanced our national reputation and enabled us to robustly advance our mission in discovery and education.”

Patrick Limbach, PhD, UC’s vice president for research, said that crossing the $700 million mark in total research expenditures is a testament to the work that happens at UC and among affiliates. 

“This milestone reflects the excellence and dedication of our researchers and collaborators, whose work is solving problems that matter and improving peoples’ lives,” he added. “The convergence of brilliant minds, strategic investments and foundational partnerships continue to fuel the expansion of UC’s research enterprise.”

UC was also awarded $40 million in industry-sponsored clinical trials in 2024, which represents about 11% of UC’s total sponsored awards.

Research partners include UC Health, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the Cincinnati VA and the University of Cincinnati Research Institute.

"Our goal is to continue to grow our significant clinical trial enterprise with the idealistic future goal of being able to offer participation in a trial to every patient who we see at our academic health center," says Brett Kissela, MD, senior associate dean for clinical research at the UC College of Medicine and chief of research services for UC Health.

Examples include a $414,369 National Science Foundation grant awarded to Amanda Webb, PhD, assistant professor of architectural engineering at UC, which will help her examine ways to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings

Over three years, Webb and collaborators will develop and demonstrate a new software platform that will help people understand how to reduce carbon dioxide output into the environment — otherwise known as decarbonization — especially as it relates to making buildings more energy efficient, and what they can do to support it. 

"As engineers, we use models. We build an energy model of a building, for example, and it's used to explore 'what-if' scenarios," Webb said. "But that data is inherently valuable. The idea behind this project is to take that data and use it as a tool to help people understand equitable decarbonization." 

Webb even made a game to encourage others to think about decarbonization. 

Also, Ou Ma, PhD, UC aerospace engineering professor, received a $11.5 million grant from the U.S. Space Force to develop satellite-based robotics technologies for servicing other satellites or removing debris in orbit.

When satellites break, they can become billion-dollar paperweights that put other satellites at risk.

“If you find a car having a problem on the road, you can tow it back to the garage for fixing,” Ma said. “If a satellite goes wrong in orbit, you can’t take it back. You have to live with it. And some problems can even kill the entire mission.”

In his Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab at UC, Ma and his collaborators will develop the technology needed for a satellite equipped with robotic arms to service another satellite in space.

“Research brings education to life and serves as a powerful catalyst for opportunity,” says Kristi Nelson, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “These record-setting results exemplify UC’s commitment to innovation and discovery. I am proud of our faculty and their work to push the limits of what’s possible and address real-world challenges.”

Featured photo at top of Charles Farbos de Luzan and Jacob Michaud-Dorko in the UC Laryngeal Biomechanics Laboratory. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand.