Wichita State has been ranked the top university in the country for industry-funded aeronautical engineering research and development, according to new rankings released by the National Science Foundation.

The rankings were based on a survey from the 2015-2016 school year, when Wichita State reported $31 million in industry funded aerospace research and development.

Wichita State ranked No. 4 in the nation in total aerospace R&D funding at $43 million.

Tracee Friess, a spokesperson for NIAR, said the largest aerospace industry clients that year were General Atomics, B/E Aerospace, Beechcraft (Textron Aviation), Learjet and Boeing.

Last year, the top industry clients were General Atomics, Gulfstream, Embraer, Northrup Grumman and Boeing.

Friess said it’s important to know that the funding for R&D is not the same as donations.

“I want to make it clear that these companies aren’t donating money,” Friess said. “They are contracting with the university for research, certi cation testing and/or training. Unfortunately, due to contract speci cations (outlined by the client/s), we can’t provide details on how much was spent by each company
or speci cs on the work conducted.”