The Johns Hopkins University led the nation in research and development spending in fiscal year 2008, according to a new National Science Foundation report, and most other area institutions maintained their national R&D rankings in a down economy.
Hopkins has ranked as the top research university on the survey since 1979. The school reported $1.7 billion in R&D spending in fiscal 2008. The institutions ranked second through fifth – University of California, San Francisco; University of Wisconsin-Madison; University of Michigan and UCLA – all reported spending in the $800 million-$900 million range.