This report offers a profile of the financial and human resources devoted to research and development (R&D) in the United States and other nations, focusing on the role of universities in carrying out R&D and in supporting the development of scientific and technical personnel needed for a competitive economy. It found that R&D expenditures in the United States in 1992 were an estimated $157.4 billion, making it the leading nation in total R&D expenditures. As a percentage of the nation's economy, however, U.S. R&D expenditures lag behind those of Japan and Germany. R&D expenditures represented 2.65 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 1990, compared with 3.07 percent for Japan and 2.81 percent for Germany. Only 16 percent of all R&D spending is for basic research, while 23 percent is for applied research and 61 percent is for developmental activities to produce useful products from the research findings. Although academic institutions conducted only 15 percent of all R&D activity in the United States in 1992, they conducted 49 percent of all basic research. (MDM)