Mississippi State ranks 59th among public universities in the United States in research and development in science and engineering, according to the latest information released by the National Science Foundation.

The university moved up from 66th place in the previous year on the strength of $100.4 million in R&D expenditures in fiscal year 1998, the most recent year for which complete data are available.

A strategic goal of the university is to move into the nation's top 50 public research institutions within the next few years. Mississippi State has passed in the rankings universities including Florida State, Clemson, and Auburn, and is the only Mississippi school among the top 100.

Research and development in the life sciences, including agriculture-related fields, accounted for about 62 percent of the university's expenditures and about 23 percent were in the field of engineering. The remainder was in areas including physical sciences, environmental sciences, mathematics and computer science, psychology, and social sciences.

Federal agencies including the NSF, Department of Defense, and Department of Agriculture, among others, accounted for the largest share of the 1998 research funding, providing $42 million. MSU's growth in federal research support from the previous year was the third highest in the nation.

The university's College of Engineering ranks among the nation's top 50 engineering research schools, based on research spending figures released by the American Society for Engineering Education.