Science & Engineering Indicators: Academic R&D Expenditures

One of the many informative tables in the National Science Board’s “Science and Engineering Indicators - 2002" provides information on the growth of academic R&D in various fields of science and engineering between the years 1973 and 1999. According to the “Indicators,” funding for total academic science and engineering grew by 205.7 percent, in inflation-adjusted dollars, during that period. Academic R&D in all the major fields shown below (Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Life Sciences) - except the Social Sciences - grew by more than 100 percent after inflation in this time period.

Academic R&D expenditures, for selected years and fields, are shown below. Amounts are given in constant 1996 dollars. The percentage change between 1973 and 1999 for each field or subfield, after inflation, follows.

SELECTED ACADEMIC R&D EXPENDITURES, BY FIELD:

(In millions of constant 1996 dollars)

In 1973, Physical Sciences R&D made up 11.4 percent of total academic science and engineering, while R&D in the Life Sciences represented 53.1 percent of the total. By 1999, Physical Sciences R&D had dropped to 9.5 percent of the total while Life Sciences R&D had grown to 56.7 percent.

Keep in mind that the numbers above refer only to academic R&D. The complete two-volume “Science and Engineering Indicators - 2002", including appendix tables, is available on the web at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind02/pdfstart.htm . A CD-ROM of the Indicators can be ordered, free of charge, from the same site. For a hardcopy version, contact paperpubs@nsf.gov or call (301) 947-2722 .