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Introduction
Research expenditures related to graduate programs in US engineering
colleges have increased annually as shown in the graph below. The
average annual expenditure increase in the 1980s was 11.7%. In the
1990s, the annual increase decreased to an average of
6.6%. The average of the three annual increases since AY2000-01 is 9.7%.
This report analyzes the growth in research expenditures of
individual engineering disciplines over the last quarter century.
Thirteen disciplines were studied: aerospace engineering (AspE),
bioengineering (BioE), biomedical engineering (BmdE), civil engineering
(CE), chemical engineering (ChE), computer engineering including
computer science in universities with engineering programs (CmpS&E),
electrical engineering (EE), environmental engineering (EnvE),
industrial engineering (IE), materials science and engineering (MSE),
mechanical engineering (ME), nuclear engineering (NucE) and petroleum
engineering (PetE).
Research Expenditure Growth in Individual Engineering Disciplines
The graph below shows the annual research expenditures for the
thirteen engineering disciplines studied along with the overall
engineering totals. As would be expected, the
slopes of the curves for most of the largest disciplines (EE, ME, CE
and ChE) closely match those of engineering as a whole. The MSE data
exhibit slopes greater than engineering in the 1980s and also since
AY2000-01, but show the lowest slope of the thirteen disciplines in the
1990s. BioE, BmdE and CmpS&E growth rates accelerated significantly in
the mid-1990s and have maintained that pace through the present time.
Growth in IE and AspE currently is slower than engineering; expenditures
in NucE and PetE are declining.
Research Expenditures per Faculty Member
The graph below shows the growth in research expenditures per faculty
member in the thirteen disciplines studied.
In the early 1980s, all but two of the disciplines had expenditures
per faculty member about the same as engineering as a whole. MSE was
almost twice engineering and IE was about half of engineering; the
trends for these disciplines have generally continued through AY2003-04,
the most recent year for which data are available.
Beginning around AY1990-91, PetE and NucE increased in research
expenditures per faculty member more rapidly than engineering as a
whole. NucE has maintained this trend; PetE reversed this trend in the
mid-1990s. Now, PetE expenditures are lower than any of the other
disciplines.
BmdE, BioE and AspE have undergone substantial increases in
expenditures per faculty member since the mid-1990s to late 1990s. BioE
was lower than engineering as a whole through the 1990s; now the BioE
expenditures are the highest per faculty member of any of the
disciplines studied.
Summary
Overall annual research expenditures for engineering have increased
since AY2000-01 at an average rate of 9.7%. This is a significant
increase over the 6.6% average annual increase in the 1990s, but less
than the 11.7% rate of the 1980s.
Since the mid-1990s, the rates of growth in research expenditures of
BioE, BmdE, CmpS&E and MSE have been greater than that of engineering.
Those of IE and NucE have experienced growth rates less than
engineering. PetE currently is decreasing in its annual research
expenditures. The larger disciplines generally have expenditure growth
trends that mirror those of engineering.
Acknowledgments
The data used in this study originated from the annual surveys of the
American Society for Engineering Education. Engineering Trends
acknowledges the efforts of this organization in providing credible data
and expresses its gratitude for their services to the engineering
profession. Persons seeking further information about their surveys and
the availability of survey data should visit the ASEE Web site (www.asee.org).
Footnotes
Engineering Trends data are compiled mainly from information
submitted by universities to the annual surveys of EWC and ASEE. On the
very rare occasions where errors in data appear, Engineering Trends
corrects the error, if possible, or deletes the data if the error is
large enough to alter significantly the trend of the university or the
US total.
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