In FY26, ORI advanced NC State’s position as a high-impact research enterprise. Despite shifting federal funding landscapes, the unit drove measurable growth in commercialization, secured critical national security infrastructure and demonstrated exceptional fiscal stewardship.

• The university secured $465,305,728 in year-to-date sponsored awards. Contributing to this amount, the Proposal Development Unit (PDU) coordinated 91 large-scale interdisciplinary proposals, securing $87.9M in awarded funding over the life of the projects.
• This year, NC State achieved a major milestone in its commitment to research excellence by completing a comprehensive, universitywide assessment of its research infrastructure in partnership with Huron Consulting Group. This strategic engagement marks a critical transition from input to implementation, establishing a foundational roadmap to sustain the university’s trajectory as a preeminent R1 institution and reach $1 billion in annual research expenditures.
• NC State ranked #1 in licensing agreements and #2 in new products among universities without medical schools. This commercialization engine was fueled by a record-breaking 226+ invention disclosures, the launch of 14 new startups, and the successful debut of the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF) Labs summer accelerator program.
• The unit expanded its capacity for high-level federal research by securing Chancellor approval for a new Defense and Security Institute. Furthermore, NC State remains the only university in North Carolina to hold a CMMC Level 2 certificate, providing the necessary compliance infrastructure to compete for advanced Department of Defense/War contracts.
• Operationally, NC State implemented a fully compliant NSPM-33 research security program to meet federal requirements while minimizing faculty burden and launched Post-Approval Monitoring (PAM) programs for both human and animal subjects research to strengthen institutional compliance and reduce risk.

Research expenditures saw a 6.7% increase — $765 million — as shown in Figure 1. While NIH funding for medical research remains the largest driver of federal funding nationwide, it also experienced the sharpest funding cuts in FY26. Because NC State thrives without a medical school footprint, the university aggressively leads the state of North Carolina in federal funding expenditures from non-NIH agencies.

NC State’s standing among these federal agencies is exceptionally strong: the university led the entire state in expenditures from the DOE, NASA, NSF and USDA, and we placed a close second to Duke University in expenditures from the DOD. Looking ahead, maintaining this diversified portfolio will be critical as the federal funding landscape for next year remains highly competitive due to shifting agency budgets.

NC State is a top-tier public research university that consistently demonstrates national leadership in cutting-edge fields such as AI, quantum computing, materials science, plant sciences, microelectronics, nuclear energy and advanced manufacturing. Driven by a focus on high-impact innovation, NC State recently climbed to #52 overall nationally in the Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) rankings, while maintaining its position as the #6 university without a medical school in the country.