<P> Penn State's research and development expenditure has been on the rise in recent years . For fiscal year 2013, according to institutional rankings of total research expenditures for science and engineering released by the National Science Foundation, Penn State stands second in the nation, behind only Johns Hopkins and tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the number of fields in which it is ranked in the top ten . Overall, Penn State ranked 17th nationally in total research expenditures across the board . In 12 individual fields, however, the University achieved rankings in the top ten nationally . The fields and sub-fields in which Penn State ranked in the top ten are materials (1st), psychology (2nd), mechanical engineering (3rd), sociology (3rd), electrical engineering (4th), total engineering (5th), aerospace engineering (8th), computer science (8th), agricultural sciences (8th), civil engineering (9th), atmospheric sciences (9th), and earth sciences (9th). In eleven of these fields, moreover, the University has repeated top - ten status every year since at least 2008 . For fiscal year 2011, the National Science Foundation reported that Penn State had spent $794,846,000 on R&D and ranked 15th among U.S. universities and colleges in R&D spending . For the 2008--2009 fiscal year, Penn State was ranked ninth among U.S. universities by the National Science Foundation, with $753 million in research and development spending for science and engineering . During the 2015--2016 fiscal year, Penn State received $836 million in research expenditures . </P> <P> The Applied Research Lab (ARL), located near the University Park campus, has been a research partner with the United States Department of Defense since 1945 and conducts research primarily in support of the United States Navy . It is the largest component of Penn State's research efforts statewide, with over 1,000 researchers and other staff members . </P> <P> The Materials Research Institute was created to coordinate the highly diverse and growing materials activities across Penn State's University Park campus . With more than 200 faculty in 15 departments, 4 colleges, and 2 Department of Defense research laboratories, MRI was designed to break down the academic walls that traditionally divide disciplines and thereby enable faculty to collaborate across departmental and even college boundaries . MRI has become a model for this interdisciplinary approach to research, both within and outside the university . Dr Richard E. Tressler, was an international leader in the development of high temperature materials . He pioneered high temperature fiber testing and use, advanced instrumentation and test methodologies for thermostructural materials, and design and performance verification of ceramics and composites in high temperature aerospace, industrial and energy applications . He was founding director of the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) which supported many faculty and students from the College of Earth and Mineral Science, the Eberly College of Science, the College of Engineering, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Applied Research Laboratories at Penn State on high temperature materials . His vision for Interdisciplinary research played a key role in the creation of the Materials Research Institute, and the establishment of Penn State as an acknowledged leader among major universities in materials education and research . </P> <P> The university was one of the founding members of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a partnership that includes 17 research - led universities in the United States, Asia, and Europe . The network provides funding, facilitates collaboration between universities, and coordinates exchanges of faculty members and graduate students among institutions . Former Penn State president Graham Spanier is a former vice-chair of the WUN . </P>

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