![](https://higheredreporter.carnegie.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/post_66_01_thumb.jpg)
By Phyllis Wise, Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
If you use a GPS device, a mouse, or a microwave oven, take antibiotics, have an eye implant, or are reading this on a tablet, you can thank America’s research universities.