The University of Pittsburgh ranks among the top universities in the world for its exceptional research strength and academic programs that focus on areas of great societal need and preparing students for productive and meaningful lives.
Research is a major source of external investment in the university, and Pitt Research has a substantial economic impact on society and the world. Externally funded research expenditures rose to $1.16 billion in FY 2023, and Pitt was ranked third in National Institutes of Health funding, putting it behind only Johns Hopkins University and University of California, San Francisco.
Highlighting Pitt’s impact in the region, our researchers spent $41.9M of their research funding in Pennsylvania, which was distributed across vendors covering 85% of the state. Pitt researchers submitted a new invention disclosure nearly every day of the year. Translating research for world-wide impact, Pitt was issued 113 US patents, executed 150 licensing and options agreements, including 13 new companies based on Pitt innovations that have the potential to improve life for millions of people.
Pitt Research, led by the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research (SVCR), is the core office at the University of Pittsburgh with responsibility to:
- Advance the research enterprise
- Support innovation, entrepreneurship, industry and economic partnerships
- Manage research protections and trade compliance
Supported by four aligned Pitt Research offices, the SVCR helps faculty, scholars, staff, students, and external partners have access to tools and services intended, and in some cases required, to support their research across the University. Pitt Research couples the research efforts of faculty and students to funding agencies, corporate sponsors, other institutions, and government entities, and assures integrity, compliance, and excellence.
Pitt is committed to expanding human understanding, improving health, spurring innovation and entrepreneurship, and stimulating solutions to the greatest needs of modern society.
Meet the Senior Vice Chancellor
Rob Rutenbar possesses nearly 30 years of experience in innovation and technology. His research focuses on three broad categories: tools for a wide variety of integrated circuit design issues, methods for managing the statistics of nanoscale chip design, and custom computer architectures for perceptual and data analytics problems.
