Louisiana Tech University, colloquially referred to as Louisiana Tech or La. Tech, is a coeducational public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier One national university by the 2016 U.S. News & World Report college rankings and is the only Tier One national university in the nine-member University of Louisiana System. As a designated space grant college, member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, member of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and Carnegie Research University with high research activity (RU/H), Louisiana Tech conducts research with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Louisiana Tech is one of less than 50 comprehensive research universities in the nation and the only university in Louisiana to be designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education and Research and a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and Research by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The university is known for its engineering and science programs.