The University of Michigan has hit the $1 billion mark for research funding this year for the first time.

Research spending is up 9.4 percent over last year for a total of $1.02 billion. About two thirds of that money comes from federal funding, which is also up 7.1 percent from the previous year. These numbers cement U-M as one of the premier economic engines in Metro Detroit, Michigan and even the Midwest region.

"That number ($1 billion) represents hundreds of faculty and students who are very entrepreneurial," says Marvin Parnes, associated vice president of research for the University of Michigan.

The U-M has been focusing more of its resources toward creating entrepreneurial opportunities. For instance, it has helped launch 49 start-ups spun off from the university's research over the last five years. About 70 percent of them are still in Michigan.

"The University of Michigan is one of the largest and most productive research institutions in the world," Parnes says. "There are only a handful of institutions who spend that much on research within a year."

Source: Marvin Parnes, associated vice president of research for the University of Michigan.
Writer: Jon Zemke