Rising Research
Of particular significance for 2023-24 is UNC Charlotte’s progress toward Carnegie R1 research status. In November, the Chronicle of Higher Education projected Charlotte will achieve Carnegie R1 status in early 2025, reflecting the University’s trajectory toward becoming one of this nation’s preeminent public research universities.
In 2023-24, Charlotte – which has seen its research expenditures rise 272% during the past decade – continued to grow its research enterprise.
In October, the Division of Research announced the largest expansion of research centers in University history through the Ignite initiative, providing funding for 12 pilot research centers.
New partnerships are powering Charlotte’s research growth. These include:
- North Tryon Tech Hub: A visionary project that envisions a technology and research hub in Uptown Charlotte with UNC Charlotte as the academic anchor.
- NCInnovation: Charlotte is one of four regional hubs for this statewide initiative that aims to support applied research to help university innovations advance to commercialization. NCInnovation awarded pilot grants in May to two Charlotte researchers.
- Carolinas Innovation Center for Optics and Metrology Consortium: Charlotte is leading an initiative, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration Tech Hubs program, to create a global manufacturing hub for optics and metrology in the Charlotte region.
- The Charlotte Aviation Innovation and Research Institute, or Charlotte AIR, the only partnership of its kind in the nation between a major airport and a leading research university.
