“Together, we want to discover the issues that will define the future of research, uncover new opportunities for engagement with peers, partners and others, and build the necessary infrastructure to make it all possible."

What is Research Next?

Research universities will likely face significant challenges ahead, and addressing them begins with understanding the issues involved. That’s the goal for the Phase 1 report from the Commission on Research Next (CRN), an initiative brought together by Georgia Tech’s Executive Vice President for Research, Chaouki T. Abdallah.

The CRN tapped the knowledge and expertise of Georgia Tech faculty, staff and students to analyze what the research landscape will look like ahead, for Georgia Tech and for other research-intensive universities. The report is available in its entirety on this website, and can be downloaded in PDF format.

A second team of faculty, staff and students worked on Phase 2 of the effort, which developed a strategy for how Georgia Tech’s research enterprise will – in alignment with the new institute strategic plan – respond to these challenges and move forward into the decades ahead. Eight two-member committees developed six goals for Phase 2.

Phase 3 is now underway. Seven implementation project teams have been assembled to create strategies around the 16 goals. These projects include: 

• Project management support: Large-scale projects and scaling PI operations 
• Strategic & operational expansion of HBCUs & MSI research partnerships
• Research faculty engagement & career development 
• All members of the research enterprise feel connected to the research mission 
• Organizational structures & pathways of interdisciplinary research 
• Research leader & mentor development 
• Research prioritization and annual strategic analysis