AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin has received 102 awards totaling $13.69 million from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for research programs administered through the Advanced Research Program and the Advanced Technology Program.
The UT Austin applications, which ranged from $31,392 to $485,214, were approved at the Oct. 17 meeting of the coordinating board. The highest award of $485,214 was to Dr. Jay Raney of environmental science and engineering, recycling and water resources for research titled “Capacity Building for Resource Assessment and Responsible Development, Texas-Mexico Border Region.”
Dr. Jacob Abraham and Dr. Baxter Womack of computer and information engineering received $296,901 for research titled, “Software Tool for On-Chip Native-Mode Built-in Tests and Test Structures.” This and several other projects also received supportive funding from other sources.
- Other approved applications from a variety of disciplines included:
- “Laboratory Assay for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease,” Dr. Francisco Gonzalez-Lima, biotechnology.
- “From the Mountains to the Desert: Hunter-Gatherers along the Frontera between Texas and Mexico,” Dr. Solveig Turpin, social and behavioral sciences.
- “Reflecting Spectroscopy for Ovarian Cancer Screening,” Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, biomedicine.
- “Enhancing Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Panic Disorder: A Controlled Comparison of Continuation Strategies,” Dr. Michael Telch, social and behavioral sciences.
- “Developing Procedures to Estimate the Value of Oilfield Data,” Dr. Larry Lake, earth sciences.
- “Error Correcting Codes from Algebraic Geometry,” Dr. Jose Voloch, mathematics.
Associate Vice President for Research Juan M. Sanchez said the University takes great pride in the performance of the faculty in this year’s competition of the Advanced Research and Advanced Technology Programs of The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
“I see several trends in the 1997 awards that speak clearly to the success of the program, and to the importance it has to our faculty and students. Relative to the 1995 competition, we have seen a 20 percent increase in the number of awards made to UT Austin, which translates into a 23 percent funding increase. The funding profile also is very favorable to UT Austin, with large awards going to areas such as biological sciences, biotechnology and environmental sciences, in which the University has made significant recent investments.
“The $13.69 million funding awarded to UT Austin is substantial. This level of funding is not only vital to the research enterprise of the University, but it also sustains and nurtures a learning environment that our undergraduate and graduate students deserve, and have come to expect from a flagship institution of the caliber of UT. The program also is a solid investment in the future of Texas, and it goes a long way to ensure that the state will continue to play a key role in the development of new technologies for the nation and the world. The coordinating board should be commended for its unwavering support and commitment to the program. I strongly encourage the faculty to continue to voice their support for the program and to commit to even more involvement in 1999.”
The 70th Legislature of the state of Texas in 1978 created the Advanced Research Program and the Advanced Technology Program as complementary, statewide research programs. The Advanced Research Program is devoted to research to foster understanding in the field and the Advanced Technology Program is devoted to research with a technological objective and a long-term economic goal. Both were created as peer-review, competitive grants programs.
Approximately $20 million was available for the Advanced Research Program and about $40 million was available for the Advanced Technology Program.
Technology Development and Transfer grants support the further development of technology created under previous Advanced Research Program or Advanced Technology Program grants and the transfer of that technology to the private sector. Up to 20 percent of the amount allocated to ATP may be awarded as Technology Development and Transfer grants.
For additional information, contact Wayne K. Kuenstler, director of the Office of Sponsored Projects at UT Austin, at 512-471-6424, or visit the website for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board at http://www.thecb.texas.gov/.
