BY THE NUMBERS Illinois in FY 2012 $376 Million: NSF funds awarded 5 th : National ranking in NSF funds 73: NSF-funded institutions 957: NSF grants awarded 16: NSF research centers/facilities EXAMPLES OF NSF-FUNDED RESEARCH IN ILLNOIS NSF’s Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program aids researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in creating an artificial skin with whiskers to enhance sensing abilities for robotic arms and whisker-tipped catheters for cardiac procedures to prevent atrial fibrillation. INVESTMENT IN NSF = INVESTMENT IN ILLINOIS 1 Money Rates. “10 Best States for Making a Living.” 2 Research! America. “Global Health R&D” 3 Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “Impact Illinois” Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) 1527 Eighteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cnsfweb.org Illinois THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) is the only federal agency whose mission includes support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering. NSF supports the Blue Waters petascale computing project to produce a computer four times more powerful than any computer that exists today. Illinois is one of three earthquake research centers selected by NSF to extend understanding on the problems associated with low-frequency seismic events and reducing the potential earthquake losses to the central and eastern U.S. When ranked amongst universities alone, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranks first in receiving NSF funding. Illinois ranks as “Best State to Make a Living” based upon relatively high average wages, a low state tax rate, and the below-average cost of living. 1 Being the 5th leading exporter in the United States, the state of Illinois has important ties globally. 2 Illinois ranks 8th in the nation for research and development research and 13th in federal research and development funding. 2 The University of Illinois pumps more than $13 billion into the state’s economy. 3 Researchers from the University of Illinois have started 48 companies, obtained over 230 patents, and disclosed 1,200 technologies. 2 “Research breakthroughs create industry in fields that were once unheard of, fueling new waves of jobs and prosperity.” -Michael J. Hogan President of University of Illinois Courtesy: www.research.gov/seeinnovation