Research Matters

Stanford researchers have defined the cutting edge for decades. They launched the computer age in Silicon Valley, played a pivotal role in establishing the biotech industry, and have been leaders in advancing artificial intelligence, all with an eye toward benefiting humanity. In most cases, the seed of a Stanford researcher’s transformational idea was nourished by funding from the U.S. government, leading to immense economic growth and the creation of jobs across the country.

Federal investments in foundational research have contributed to the development of radar, GPS, heart transplants, artificial intelligence, MRI scans, and the internet. Today, Stanford researchers pursue cures for cancer, drugs to reverse neurodegenerative diseases, and 3D-printed replacement organs. Groundbreaking innovations that begin in Stanford labs flow freely into private industry to improve human well-being, fuel the economy, and strengthen American competitiveness.

This is why research matters.

Federally funded research at Stanford has led to more than 400 start-ups that have raised $94 billion and created more than 350,000 jobs.

The return on government-sponsored research is powerful: Every $1 of NIH-funded research leads to $2.56 in economic activity.

Government-supported research at Stanford has produced 6,700 inventions, and helped launch the AI, biotech, and computer industries.

I design tiny robot surgeons.

Hear how Renee Zhao’s inventions couldfix brain damage from strokes

I want to grow patients a new heart.

Hear how Mark Skylar-Scott is chasing the“holy grail of curative medicine”
Profile photo of Mark Skylar-Scott in his lab.

I want to make drugs work better.

I want to cure untreatable diseases.

Hear from the researchers

I train the next generation of scientists

We’re studying a brand new organ

I study how sleep repairs the brain

Accelerating solutions for today’s challenges

Accelerating solutions for today’s challenges

  • Harnessing AI to invent new medicines

    An AI system loaded with the genomes of 15,000 species runs experiments in minutes instead of years, and could help scientists identify disease-curing molecules. 

A legacy of impact

The first heart transplant

In 1946, Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell published the explanation of nuclear magnetic resonance, the fundamental science that allows MRI machines to identify disease and injury in the body.

The first internet transmission was sent between engineers at Stanford Research Institute and UCLA in 1969. Their work was part of a military-funded project and forms the backbone of the modern internet.

John McCarthy was one of the founders of artificial intelligence, coining the term in 1955. Later he invented the computer processing language LISP, which became the language of choice for programming AI systems.

The birth of biotech

As graduate students William Hewlett and David Packard developed the first precision audio oscillator, a low-cost method of measuring audio frequencies. The device became the foundation for their company, known around the world today as HP.

Stanford engineers invented the klystron, the first significantly powerful source of radio waves in the microwave range. It was foundational technology in the development of military radar detection, commercial air navigation, satellite communications, and high-energy particle accelerators.

Ronald Bracewell built the Stanford Radio Astronomy Observatory to measure solar activity. The algorithms he developed to recreate images from his scans led to computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scans for medical diagnosis.

100 years of innovation