University of Utah research firsts (and a fourth)

It’s not exactly breaking news that the University of Utah is a Carnegie Tier One research institution.

OK, great, but what does that mean?

The designation is awarded by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education and based on the level of research activity conducted at a university. The highest and most coveted rank is in the “Doctoral/Very High Research Activity” category. Universities that earn this benchmark are often referred to simply as “R1” institutions.

Whatever you call it, the classification is viewed as a crucial step to recruiting high-quality faculty and obtaining more prestigious research grants. The only other R1 institution in the state is Utah State University, which received the honor in 2021.

The U’s research community is cultivated through 18 colleges, 35 interdisciplinary programs, 100 academic departments/divisions, and 120 centers/bureaus on campus, according to the Vice President for Research (VPR) website.

Since the U was founded in 1850, its research community has enjoyed a long string of distinguished firsts:

• 1883: First published book, “A Primer and First Reader of Vocal Music”
• 1892: First published paper, “Elementary Science in the Public Schools”
• 1921: First patent, prototype of a folding cot
• 1945: First research grant to study muscular dystrophy
• 1969: Fourth (I guess they can’t all be firsts) node of ARPANET, precursor to the internet
• 1982: First permanent artificial heart transplant
• 2007: First Nobel Prize recipient, Mario Capecchi, Ph.D., whose pioneering work allowed scientists to create mice with mutations in any desired gene

Access a more detailed timeline of U of U historical research milestones at this VPR webpage.

 

Node 4 Search