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Facts & Figures
| 6th | in the US for federal research among universities. |
| $1.15 billion |
in research activity annually. |
| 12th | largest US research university in research volume & annual expenditures. |
Our Mission
Cures and treatments for disease. New technologies. New industries for North Carolina and the world. At Carolina, we tackle tough challenges with multidisciplinary teams of top scientists and students whose diverse perspectives deliver creative, unprecedented solutions. As one of America’s top research universities, we conduct roughly $1 billion in research annually. We provide dedicated service to our sponsors and unprecedented opportunities for graduate students, postdocs and undergraduates.
— Terry Magnuson, UNC Vice Chancellor for Research
Strategic Research Priorities
By fostering and supporting collaborative, interdisciplinary teams, UNC Research is accelerating new discoveries and solutions to emerging challenges in these areas:
Brain
Cancer
Data Science
Environment
Infectious Disease
Opportunity, Well-Being, and Culture
Precision Health and Society
Stories Powered by UNC Research
Levees Improved by UNC Researcher Succeed Against Hurricane Ida
On Sunday August 29th, Hurricane Ida made landfall in New Orleans as a Category 4 hurricane, but thanks to the work of UNC researcher Rick Luettich and others, the levees held and water damage was greatly minimized.
Carolina Research in the News | Earlier News Stories…
Uncovering a 3,000-Year-Old Desert Battle
UNC-Chapel Hill geologist Drew Coleman measured bone and teeth samples from the 3,000-year-old remains of Chilean desert dwellers, helping determine their causes of death: fatal blows from a battle over limited resources.
How COVID-19 Spreads in Households
UNC School of Medicine assistant professor Jessica Lin oversaw a recent study that found that once one member of a household tests positive for COVID-19, the other members have a 32% chance of also contracting the disease.
Probing the Origins of the Universe
Why did the universe come into existence? And what, if anything, existed before the Big Bang? UNC-Chapel Hill cosmologist and theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton discusses these big questions in this Physics World podcast.