UTSA College of Sciences

UTSA research sheds light on Central Texas geology

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:41:38 -0600

Geologists present research at 2009 Geological Society of America annual meeting

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

Research projects by Stuart Birnbaum, UTSA associate professor of geological sciences, and Daniel Lupton, a UTSA master’s student in geological sciences, reveal new information about Central Texas’ climate and water sources.

Birnbaum’s team researched the ancient climate preserved in the chemical signature of samples from Kimble County, Texas by taking rock samples from a 12-meter cliff exposure of the Hensel paleosol, an ancient soil estimated to be approximately 112 million years old.

“Our research is significant, because it could help us calculate the rate at which climate change took place in Earth’s pre-human past. “Generally, we’ve learned that the climate 112 million years ago in what is now Central Texas was warm and arid, similar to what we see today,” said Birnbaum. “Once we learn how long it took the Hensel paleosol to form, we’ll be in a better position to understand the human influence on global warming in the area.”

The scientists analyzed carbon and oxygen isotopes and other elements present in the rock samples through various experiments. They learned that the soil formed at a temperature of 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) at the base and 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit) at the top, a change of 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit). They also learned that the paleosol received 222-243 millimeters of precipitation per year during its formation.

Focusing on watersheds, UTSA master’s student Daniel Lupton has also paid close attention to Central Texas geology over the last year. Lupton studies hydrogeology under Alan Dutton, UTSA associate professor and interim chair of geological sciences.

“State programs such as those run by the Texas Water Development Board and national programs such as those of the U.S. Geological Survey produce significant amounts of raw data related to geology, geography and hydrology,” said Lupton. “Our research centered around processing the raw data with the desired result of creating maps of recharge and discharge zones. Knowing the geographical distribution of recharge and discharge zones affords vested interests the option of whether or not to build sustainably in an area.”

For his Master’s thesis, Lupton merged stream data and water well data using geographic information system (GIS) technology to create a comprehensive map of recharge and discharge zones in the Central Texas Pedernales River Valley. He focused on the geographical area that is underlain by the Trinity Hill Country and Llano Uplift aquifers. His maps of recharge and discharge zones maximize the use of sparse data and are anticipated to be a contribution to the study of aquifer interactions in the area.

UTSA’s Department of Geological Sciences, housed in the College of Sciences, offers bachelor’s and master’s programs in Geology, a master’s program in Multidisciplinary Studies and a certificate program in Geographical Information Science grounded in research. The department’s research facilities include laboratories for biogeochemistry, hydrogeology, engineering geology, isotope geochemistry, micropaleontology and stratigraphy, remote sensing and spatial analysis, and x-ray diffraction. To learn more about UTSA’s geology program, visit http://www.utsa.edu/geosci.

UTSA listed in six Science articles.

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:32:26 -0600

UTSA listed in six Science articles.

Faculty Spotlight: Weldon Hammond, Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:18:53 -0600

By Lynn Gosnell
Special Projects Writer

UTSA College of Sciences Professor Weldon W. Hammond holds the Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology. The endowed professorship was established in 1998 by the trustees of the V.H. McNutt Memorial Foundation.

An expert in hydrogeology, Hammond heads UTSA’s Center for Water Research (CWR), an interdisciplinary research center active in San Antonio and throughout Texas, Mexico and Central America. Through CWR contracts and partnerships, faculty and student scientists work with local communities to study water quality and improve water resources.

Vachel H. McNutt was a pioneer petroleum and mining geologist, most famous for his 1925 discovery of the first commercial potash deposits in the United States. His discovery broke the German domination of the substance used in munitions as well as in industry and agriculture. After his death in 1960, his wife, Amy Shelton McNutt, established the V. H. McNutt Memorial Foundation to support education and research in the sciences.

The Center for Water Research projects often take Hammond and his graduate students to remote areas in the developing world where access to clean water transforms community health. Endowment funds have supported the acquisition of sophisticated and expensive geophysical equipment — such as a resistivity instrument — that makes locating and drilling for water in remote locations more accurate.

“It’s done a world of good,” Hammond said. “All the graduate students have access to state-of-the-art geophysical research equipment.”

One such ongoing project is in the Departamento del Paraiso in Honduras, to the south and east of Zamorano, an area of small agricultural villages with critical water problems. UTSA partners with the National Autonomous University of Honduras, training students and faculty, drilling and developing wells, and training locals in sustaining each project. With the data Hammond and his students have gathered in Honduras, he plans to submit a grant this fall to the National Science Foundation to support further water resource research projects in Honduras.

The fund also is used to support travel for staff and students to conferences and special training seminars, such as one held recently by the Advanced Geophysics Company in Austin.

“These funds give us the opportunity to work with students on problems that involve people — it gives us the opportunity to find solutions at the community level,” Hammond added.

“In view of the importance of water resources to the San Antonio area, the trustees of the Foundation requested that the Distinguished Professorship be awarded to a professor whose primary area of study and teaching is hydrogeology,” said trustee Valerie Guenther. “We have been very pleased with Dr. Hammond’s achievements and vision.”

Nikos Salingaros ranks 11th in Planetizen's Top 100 Urban Thinkers

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:17:29 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

UTSA mathematics professor and urbanist Nikos Salingaros is ranked 11th on an international list of the Top 100 Urban Thinkers, according to urban planning Web site Planetizen. Salingaros has served on UTSA’s mathematics faculty since 1983 and also holds architecture appointments with the University of Rome III in Italy, the Delft University of Technology in Holland and Tecnologico de Monterrey in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico.

“I was informed rather late in the poll that my name had been included and that it was rising every day,” said Salingaros. “I was glad that the scientific approach to urban planning was well represented on the list with the inclusion of Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander and Bill Hillier.”

Like Salingaros, Christopher Alexander and Bill Hillier, who also are on the list, are mathematicians who became urbanists, applying scientific analysis to better understand cities. While Jane Jacobs was not a mathematician, she was the first person who suggested applying complexity theory to urbanism, along with Warren Weaver, in the 1960s.

“This represents a clear victory for the application of science to designing cities,” said Salingaros. “I was very proud to be included and frankly surprised to make such a good showing, ending right next to my friend James Howard Kunstler, with whom I have written a paper and recorded an interview. I guess we are complementary.”

Although Salingaros calls himself “a relative newcomer to urban design,” the academician has published five books on urbanism and architecture, including “Principles of Urban Structure” and “A Theory of Architecture,” and has two more due this year and next. In his book, “Anti-architecture and Deconstruction,” Salingaros presents architectural rules that are grounded in science and mathematics, setting off a controversy between both architects and critics.

In addition to publishing more than 110 papers in mathematics, physics, architecture and urban design, Salingaros is the associate editor of three architecture and urban planning journals. He serves on the editorial board of Resource for Urban Design Information, as a consultant to the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C., and as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation and the Israel Science Foundation. Additionally, he contributes to major architectural projects in Qatar, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and Kosovo.

Planetizen is a Web-based community for urban planners, designers and developers that includes partners such as the American Society of Landscape Architects, Christian Science Monitor, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Preservation magazine, among others. Its Top 100 Urban Thinkers poll was conducted from Aug. 7 to Sept. 7, 2009.

Professional Science and Mathematics Teaching Track for Tenured Faculty Approved

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:40:42 -0600

College of Sciences tenured faculty who are extraordinarily effective teachers can now use their skills in a career track that benefits them and their students. The university has approved the Professional Science and Mathematics Teaching Track for tenured faculty in the college.

Proposed last year and presented to faculty members within the six departments, the teaching track received a tremendous amount of support. A recently-conducted poll of College faculty showed that a majority favor the track. Seventy-eight percent of the tenured faculty who responded supported the proposal, as did three quarters of the assistant professors who responded. Provost Frederick also indicated that he supports the track and has approved its implementation.

This plan has two overarching goals. The first is to create and maintain a system in which success in the teaching component of our mission is equal to success in the research component in regards to professional career advancement. This will be addressed by making opportunities for merit pay award and promotion as readily available to superior teachers as they are now for superior researchers.

The second is to utilize the skills and experience of these very effective instructors in ways that move the departments and college forward. A major benefit of this program is that more students will move through foundational courses with better mastery of key concepts and essential material, in a more timely fashion.

The first class will begin their revised activity in January 2010. The faculty involved will have a substantially reduced research expectation, counterbalancing an increased array of teaching and service activities. An annual course load for someone in this track might include:

Teaching large foundational, service, and core curriculum courses.

Teaching seminars for graduate students on the science and art of pedagogy.

Supervising (jointly) graduate students in teaching assistantships.

Making presentations in their respective departmental seminar series on innovative teaching techniques and best practices.

Developing new and timely core curriculum courses (e.g., the Science of Pandemics, the Science of Global Warming). [Note: this concept must be approved by the College Policy Committee, the University Core Curriculum Committee, et al.].

Admission to this track will be limited to tenured faculty, with the anticipation that outstanding non-tenure-track faculty will be invited to participate in subsequent years. Merit raises and/or promotion for faculty in this track will depend on success in accomplishing a different set of goals than those in the research track that are as equally valuable to the departments, college, and university.

Target faculty will exhibit three characteristics:

Self-declared interest in making instructional success the central focus of one’s career.

Consistent history of relatively high IDEA course/instructor survey results.

Consistent history of teaching success revealed by other measures (such as low drop rates, appropriate and up-to-date content, appropriately rigorous grading standards, students showing high levels of mastery of key skills, etc.).

*During a two-year trial period, further data will be collected. Assessment techniques will be created which allow further assessment of the faculty member’s actual effectiveness in promoting student mastery.

The Professional Science and Mathematics Teaching Track was created as a forward-looking way of utilizing the talents of certain faculty in ways that mutually benefit them and the university.

It articulates well with other recent and on-going changes and initiatives at the university, among them:

The university’s new criteria for promotion to full professor.

The state-wide push for universities to graduate more competent students in timely fashion.

The college’s systematic effort to revise the merit review assessment criteria for teaching effectiveness.

The college’s program of support for teaching improvement projects, which is now in its second round.

The college’s initiative to encourage departments and graduate programs to structure the teaching experiences of our graduate students so as to maximize their benefit to UTSA and to make them more marketable, which was begun last year.

Interested faculty members should discuss the matter with their department chair, Raymond Baird, senior associate dean, and George Perry, dean of the college.

Network Redesign Targets Science Building

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:47:46 -0600

The UTSA Network Redesign project has reached the Science Building.

By Alex Morones
OIT Technical Writer/Editor

In this phase of the project, which is scheduled to run from November 30 – December 15, network equipment in the Science Building will be replaced.

One Network, Two Subnetworks

The UTSA computer network is actually made up of two subnetworks:
·        the Admin network is used by the vast majority of UTSA faculty and staff members
·        the Computer Science Department network is used for Science Building labs and other CS department users

The Computer Science department network will not be affected at this time - it is slated to be upgraded at a later date.

IP Addressing Changes

In addition to the hardware upgrade, a new IP addressing scheme will be implemented.

An IP address is a unique identifier for a device (like a PC or a printer) on a computer network.

Some IP addresses are automatically assigned when you connect your PC to the network while other devices, like networked printers, have a ‘static’ (or permanently assigned) IP address.

Currently, all UTSA network IP addresses are public, which means that they can be seen by other individuals with access to the Internet.

The new IP addressing scheme will feature private IP addresses for personal computers and other devices on the UTSA network. Private addressing will help prevent some, but not all, attacks on our network.

Some devices, like Web servers that display publicly-accessed Web sites, will continue to have public IP addresses.

What will this mean to you?

As a typical personal computer user, you should not see any difference in the way you access the network or your connection speed. However, after the changes have been made, you may need to reboot your PC to acquire a new IP address.

For more information, contact us by e-mail: oit@utsa.edu

Three Biology Students Win Research Awards from American Society for Microbiology

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:29:27 -0600

Ann Reyes, Tricia Van Laar and Steve Rodriguez are honored at annual microbiology meeting

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

One UTSA undergraduate student and two UTSA doctoral students researching topics in microbiology and infectious diseases won competitive awards for their poster and oral presentations at the annual meeting of the Texas Branch of American Society for Microbiology held from Nov. 5-7 at The University of Texas at Tyler.

Ann Reyes, an undergraduate majoring in biology and math, was awarded the Sam Kaplan Poster Award for the second best poster presented at the conference by an undergraduate. Her poster showcased her research characterizing the role of polyamines in the patho-physiology of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Reyes’ research is supported by UTSA’s Minority Biomedical Research Support’s Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement program.

Tricia Van Laar, a third year Cellular and Molecular Biology doctoral student won the O.B. William award (third place) for her oral presentation in general microbiology. Her presentation described the characterization of a novel chemical pathway in Borrelia burgdorferi that leads to the development of a metabolic intermediate that could contribute to several aspects critical for the survival and infectivity of B. burgdorferi.

Steve Rodriguez, a fifth year Cellular and Molecular Biology doctoral student won the S. E. Sulkin Award (third prize) in for his oral presentation in medical microbiology. At the meeting, Rodriguez discussed a pathogenic component of the Franciscella tularensis genome that is essential for virulence.

“The American Society for Microbiology’s competitive awards are excellent indicators of the caliber of work carried out by our graduate and undergraduate students at UTSA,” said Janakiram Seshu, assistant professor of microbiology and a member of UTSA’s South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. “These accolades also increase the profile of our research efforts by helping us attract top-notch students from different regions of Texas to graduate and undergraduate programs at UTSA.”

View Jupiter and crescent moon at free UTSA astronomy event Nov. 20

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:03:03 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

The UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy will host the eighth installment of the signature series, “Friday Nights, Celestial Lights,” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 20 at the Science Building on the Main Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Weather permitting, UTSA’s faculty astronomers will host a viewing of the cosmos from the Science Building fourth-floor patio using a 15-inch Newtonian telescope and several 8-inch Cassegrain telescopes. The patio is wheelchair accessible. If the sky is clear, Jupiter, the Ring Nebula in Lyra, the globular cluster Messier 15, double star Albireo in Cygnus and the crescent moon will be visible.

The UTSA astronomy seriess is inspired by the International Year of Astronomy, which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei using a telescope to observe the heavens.

For more information, contact Professor Eric Schlegel at 210-458-6425 or lecturer Mark Jurena at 210-458-4922.

Biology professor Richard LeBaron's research may help cure bone cancer and diabetes

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:45:25 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

Over the last 15 years, more than 70 UTSA students of varying levels have matriculated through the laboratory of biology professor Richard LeBaron, who studies the extracellular matrix of proteins found outside of cells. And, for the last 10 years, most of those students have become intimately familiar with a protein called BIG-H3, that theoretically may be useful in killing bone cancer cells.

BIG-H3, known formally as “transforming growth factor beta-induced protein,” is found in many organs in the body. An extracellular protein, it is found outside the body’s cells. In its natural state, BIG-H3 acts as an adhesive or a pathway to help cells travel to places where they are needed throughout the body.

However, research conducted in the 1990s suggested that BIG-H3 might be involved in other physiological actions in addition to helping cells move. It was hypothesized that BIG-H3 plays a role in triggering apoptosis, the body’s process for destroying unwanted cells.

An expert in extracellular molecules, LeBaron was curious about the research. In the late 1990s, he began asking questions. Does BIG-H3 start apoptosis, or is it merely present during the process? Do BIG-H3 concentrations change during apoptosis and, if so, how? Which parts of the BIG-H3 protein are activated during apoptosis? That curiosity has driven LeBaron’s laboratory for the last decade, and his team’s deliberations have brought significant observations to light.

“Over the years, we have studied BIG-H3 very intently, and our research indicates that high levels of BIG-H3 trigger excess apoptosis, a natural cell death program,” LeBaron said. “We also know that one of BIG-H3’s ends, called the C-terminus, must be in a fragmented state for the cell death cycle to occur. We’ve even been able to go so far as to pinpoint that the fragmentation occurs in the last 69 amino acid stretch on BIG-H3’s C-terminus, and within that stretch find the signal that promotes death in some types of cancer cells.”

The LeBaron laboratory’s research on BIG-H3 has been featured in scientific publications and at international scientific meetings over the years. Most recently in a Matrix Biology article, LeBaron presents research indicating that his team can induce BIG-H3 to kill bone cancer cells by raising the BIG-H3 concentration in the laboratory and forcing the BIG-H3 C-terminus to become fragmented.

“Because BIGH3 is found in many human tissues, we did not know what path our research would ultimately take, so we simply expect that the results or our experiments will guide us,” said LeBaron.

LeBaron’s recent work shows that BIG-H3 may be involved in other human diseases including health complications that arise from hyperglycemia. Collaborating with other UTSA and Univeristy of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio investigators, his preliminary studies suggest that BIGH3 might be a significant clinical target. The LeBaron lab research offers hope to individuals suffering from cancer and diabetes.

“We have already been able to trick BIG-H3 into killing bone cancer cells in the laboratory by increasing BIG-H3’s concentrations in vitro,” said LeBaron. “If we can raise the concentrations of BIG-H3 in the body of a bone cancer patient like we can in the laboratory, we should be able to manipulate the body into killing its cancer cells.”

BIG-H3 is not the only protein LeBaron studies. His laboratory studies a protein named lubricin that is found outside cells and lubricates joints.

“We have shown that lubricin is found in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the jaw joint that many people associate with lockjaw,” said LeBaron.

More women than men have reported degenerative TMJ that is very painful and often causes restricted jaw movement. LeBaron’s research shows that the lubricin gene might be regulated by estrogen. Moreover, his laboratory has evidence that estrogen causes the lubricin protein to stop lubricating.

“If we can prove this is the case, then it will open a number of new avenues by which TMJ degeneration can be treated, if not cured,” LeBaron said. “The better we understand what they do in humans and how they work, the greater are our chances of helping treat and cure diseases. We are very excited about our work and where it is taking us.”

An associate professor of cellular and molecular biology, LeBaron has served at UTSA for 15 years. He is a faculty member in the Department of Biology in the UTSA College of Sciences and the San Antonio Institute for Cellular and Molecular Primatology at UTSA. He has received continuous research support through National Institutes of Health MBRS/SCORE grants, private foundations and UTSA faculty research awards.

UTSA to host Texas Water Symposium on Thursday, Nov. 12

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:28:13 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

(Nov. 11, 2009)—Water experts from across the state will gather at The University of Texas at San Antonio on Thurs., Nov. 12 to launch the 2009-2010 Texas Water Symposium, an annual series of public discussions about water use and conservation. The Nov. 12 forum, titled “Our Limited Groundwater Supply: Whose Desired Future Conditions Are We Planning For?” is free and open to the public.

The Texas Water Symposium is scheduled for Thurs., Nov. 12, 2009 at 7 p.m. on the UTSA Main Campus in the Business Building University Room (Room 2.06.04).

Robert E. Mace , deputy executive administration of water science and conservation at the Texas Water Development Board will moderate the symposium, which will include three panelists:
Mary Ellen Summerlin , board of directors, at-large representative, Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, Kerr County
Weldon Hammond , director of the UTSA Center for Water Research
Gregory M. Ellis , attorney and executive director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Conservation Districts

The forum’s panelists will discuss Texas’ population growth and related water supply challenges, the complexity of water issues, and solutions to complex water issues. In particular, they will address the distribution and abundance of water in Texas; groundwater and surface water supplies; urban and rural water issues; water policy; the science of water; legal, economic and ethical issues; the interaction and planning between water supply agencies; and the history of the Rule of Capture in shaping Texas’ water policy. The forum also includes time for questions from the audience.

The annual Texas Water Symposium is a series of free lectures and forums designed to inform and engage Texas citizens. It is sponsored by Schreiner University, Texas Tech University, Texas Public Radio and the Hill Country Alliance. Each forum is taped and aired on Texas Public Radio the following Friday.

Future symposia in the 2009-2010 series include “Climate Change and Impacts on Floods, Weather and Drought in Texas: What Controversy?” scheduled for Jan. 28, 2010 and “Kids, Water, and Science: Perspectives from Our Future,” with a panel of school children, scheduled for March 25, 2010.

For more information about the series, visit www.schreiner.edu/water or contact UTSA professor Weldon Hammond at weldon.hammond@utsa.edu or (210) 458-5471.

Water expert hired as director Institute for Conventional, Alternative and Renewable Energy

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:21:12 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

The University of Texas at San Antonio announced today the appointment of Les Shephard, a nationally recognized expert who often speaks before the U.S. Congress on energy and water issues, to head the UTSA Institute for Conventional, Alternative and Renewable Energy (ICARE). Shephard will assume his role as director on April 15, 2010.

“Les Shephard is an expert in his field. He is knowledgeable, well-respected and highly sought after by energy companies around the world,” said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. “We are thrilled that he will be coming here to UTSA, where he will work with our faculty and our collaborative partners to build a world-class energy institute right here in San Antonio.”

Shephard will be part of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the UTSA College of Engineering, where he will hold the USAA Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in Engineering, an endowment that contributed greatly to his recruitment to UTSA.

“I am truly delighted to hear that Dr. Les Shephard is joining ICARE after many years of very distinguished leadership at Sandia, including his position as vice president for energy and critical global infrastructure,” said David B. Prior, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Texas System. “I have known Les personally and professionally since his doctoral work at Texas A&M and know that he will undoubtedly contribute very substantially to new directions at ICARE and to the new strengths in energy-related research across the University of Texas System.”

Shephard’s hire comes at a crucial time for UTSA, which is competing with six other Texas universities to reach tier-one status. To achieve that goal, UTSA must significantly increase its annual federal research expenditures. Energy research is one of five strategic areas on which there will be a focus.

Under Shephard’s direction, ICARE will bring together representatives from industry, government and academia to explore alternative energy sources. A focus will be on new policies and best practices for the energy industry in the region, state and internationally. Research will involve every college at UTSA and the university’s Center for Water Research. ICARE also will support the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio, developed earlier this year by UTSA, Southwest Research Institute, CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System. The alliance, which is in its infancy, will conceptualize, develop and commercialize technologies to meet San Antonio’s current and future energy challenges.

Shephard joins UTSA from Sandia National Laboratories, which is managed by Lockheed Martin Corporation for the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served for more than 27 years. Most recently, Shephard was vice president of Sandia’s Energy, Security and Defense Technologies Division, a multi-program, science-based engineering laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M.

Shephard’s Sandia division has developed, deployed and commercialized technologies and capabilities that address many of the nation’s most pressing national security challenges in energy, water, infrastructure and strategic nuclear materials. The division has pursued technology breakthroughs that will contribute to alternative transportation fuels, energy efficiency, responsible environmental stewardship and renewable energy options. Today, it works with representatives from more than 100 nations to pursue a principal mission of creating a peaceful and free world through technology.

Climbing to tier one: UTSA reports 34 percent increase in research spending

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:11:14 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

The University of Texas at San Antonio released its newest research numbers today, reporting a 34 percent increase to $46,521,487 in total research spending for the Sept. 1, 2008-Aug. 31, 2009 fiscal year (FY 2009) over the previous fiscal year, when research spending totaled $34,601,444. Research spending is up 97 percent from just five years ago, when UTSA’s total research expenditures were $23,605,844.

Additionally, UTSA reported $67,427,457 in total research and non-research spending (total sponsored programs expenditures) for FY 2009. This represents a 30-percent increase in total sponsored programs expenditures over the last fiscal year and a 71-percent increase over the last five fiscal years, when the totals were $51,869,574 and $39,463,871, respectively.

“As we build a tier-one university for a tier-one city, the success of our research program is critical,” said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. “We will continue to focus on our academic and research strengths in health, security, energy, sustainability, and human and social development by recruiting top faculty and students, growing our graduate programs and strengthening our research collaborations within the United States and abroad.”

“To say we’ve almost doubled our research activities in the past five years is really significant,” said Robert Gracy, UTSA vice president for research. “Today, we are certainly on an upward trajectory to tier one status. We have developed a stronghold of collaborative research partners in the region and our recruitment of top faculty will certainly lead to even larger increases in research expenditures in the coming year as those individuals gain traction at UTSA.”

Last year was particularly strong for UTSA research for a variety of reasons. The College of Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Education and Human Development and College of Liberal and Fine Arts were the top four contributors in overall research dollars. The colleges house most of UTSA’s campus-based research centers and institutes.

Notably, UTSA biology researchers Bernard Arulanandam and Ashlesh Murthy in the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, in collaboration with Guangming Zhong at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, developed an agreement with Merck and Co Inc. to develop a chlamydia vaccine. The revenue-producing license was UTSA’s first.

Additionally, UTSA began receiving funding from a variety of new sources last year including the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and multiple contracts with international partners. The university also began to focus on the development and commercialization of new marketable technologies developed by faculty and students. By Aug. 31, 2009, UTSA’s invention disclosures increased 244 percent and its provisional patent applications increased 400 percent over the prior year.

In related news, UTSA is expected to receive more than $1.4 million in Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP) funding this fiscal year, the first of two payments totaling $3,850,000 that UTSA earned in matching funds from the State of Texas. The matching funds are based on a monetary incentive tied to private gifts that were received by the university before Sept. 1. Established in May 2009 by House Bill 51 of the 81st Texas Legislature, TRIP is one of three initiatives that supports the growth of Texas’ emerging research universities. House Bill 51 also established the Research University Development Fund and the National University Research Fund to promote higher education in Texas.

In the coming fiscal year, UTSA expects to spend $75 million in sponsored programs including $50 million in research. Sources for the projections include:

Funding to be received by newly hired faculty
Construction of a new research building
Additional funding from the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Partnerships with strategic collaborators such as the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Southwest Research Institute, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research and the military
New funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, a $3 billion, 10-year funding opportunity for cancer researchers in Texas
Increased research activity by UTSA research centers and institutes
Addition of new senior leadership

Sibling researchers on Huntington's disease to speak at UTSA Nov. 10-11

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:33:15 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

The UTSA Neurosciences Institute will present two lectures Nov. 10-11 by sibling scholars Alice Wexler and Nancy Wexler, who are researching different aspects of Huntington’s disease, which also has directly affected their family. The evening lectures are free and open to the public.

UCLA historian Alice Wexler will speak on “Stigma, Secrecy and Medical History: What Can We Learn from Huntington’s Disease?” at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the University Center Retama Auditorium (2.02.02) on the Main Campus. Free and open to the public, a reception will precede the lecture at 4:30 p.m.

Columbia University Professor Nancy Wexler will speak on “Expansions on a Dream: From Cause to Cure of Huntington’s Disease” at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11 in the Main Building Auditorium (0.104) on the Main Campus. Free and open to the public, a 5:30 p.m. reception will precede the lecture.

The joint lectures highlight two academic perspectives on Huntington’s disease from gifted scholars who have had excruciatingly personal experience with the malady. Sisters Nancy Wexler and Alice Wexler are at risk of Huntington’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system that took their mother’s life. Subsequently, both women have committed their personal and professional lives to advocacy and study of the fatal disease. Alice’s work pursues the disease from historical and sociological perspectives; Nancy’s work focuses on its biological basis and developing a cure.

In a compelling twist, Nancy Wexler’s scientific quest led her to a remote jungle region of Venezuela, where she had the opportunity to live among and study the genes of a large, isolated family with a high instance of Huntington’s disease. This seminal work led to the 1983 discovery of a genetic marker for Huntington’s disease and to the 1993 discovery of the gene that causes the disease.

Alice Wexler, who is a fellow at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women accompanied her sister on this mission and wrote about it in her memoir, “Mapping Fate: A Memoir of Family, Risk and Genetic Research.” Her subsequent work has focused on detailing the history and lived experience of the disease in the context of expanding medical knowledge.

The lecture by Alice Wexler is sponsored by the UTSA Neurosciences Institute in the College of Sciences, the UTSA American Studies Program and the UTSA Honors College. The lecture by Nancy Wexler is part of the UTSA Neurosciences Institute Distinguished Public Lecture Series.

For more information, contact Salma Quraishi at (210) 458-7493.

———————————————

About the speakers

Nancy Wexler, president of the Hereditary Disease Foundation, is the Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology in the Departments of Neurology and Psychology at Columbia University’s School of Physicians and Surgeons. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Albert Lasker Public Service Award in 1993. Her research has led to the development of a pre-symptomatic test for Huntington’s disease and ultimately to the identification of the gene that causes the disease.

Historian Alice Wexler is the author of “Mapping Fate: A Memoir of Family, Risk and Genetic Research” and “The Woman Who Walked into the Sea: Huntington’s and the Making of a Genetic Disease,” both historical texts about Huntington’s disease. For the latter, she won the 2009 American Medical Writers Association Medical Book Award. She is a research scholar at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women.

About the UTSA Neurosciences Institute

The UTSA Neurosciences Institute is a multidisciplinary research organization for integrated brain studies. The institute’s mission is to foster a collaborative community of scientists committed to studying the biological basis of human experience and behavior, and the origin and treatment of nervous system diseases. Its areas of focus include nervous system development; neuronal and network computation; sensory, motor and cognitive function; learning and memory and the disease processes that impact them; implementing mathematical and computational tools in experimental neurobiology; and mathematical theory of neurons and nervous systems. Learn more or make a gift at the UTSA Neurosciences Institute Web site.

San Antonio Water System joins Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:51:31 -0600

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

Dedicated to exploring new and innovative energy solutions, San Antonio Water System (SAWS) announced today it has joined the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio, established in June by The University of Texas at San Antonio, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and CPS Energy. The four organizations will collaborate to define and implement new and alternative strategies for the development of energy technology.

“Working together to find new synergies in solutions to essential issues like water and energy is essential to the well-being of San Antonians,” said Steve Clouse, SAWS chief operating officer. “Our ratepayers depend on groups like this working together to find the most economical, efficient methods. We welcome the opportunity.”

“The energy challenges that our world faces today and will be facing in the future must be addressed now by dedicated researchers with a broad array of skills and specialties,” said Robert Gracy, UTSA vice president for research. “We are excited to join Southwest Research Institute and CPS Energy in developing the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio. The addition of San Antonio Water System to the partnership will certainly catalyze our progress. Together, we will be able to develop energy solutions that each individual organization could not accomplish by working on its own.”

“We welcome SAWS as a new partner in the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio,” said Danny Deffenbaugh, vice president of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute. “Adding our local water supplier to the alliance reflects the critical relationship between water and energy.”

Cris Eugster, CPS Energy executive vice president and chief sustainability officer, said, “San Antonio has the opportunity to be a leader in clean-energy technologies and their practical applications, and the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio will be a key catalyst in this endeavor.”

No additional funding is required to support the joint initiative.

——————————————

About the Energy Research Alliance of San Antonio partners

San Antonio Water System

Since 1992, San Antonio Water System has provided leadership in managing and developing water resources in the San Antonio region. Water and wastewater services are provided to more than 1 million consumers in the San Antonio area. For more information, visit the San Antonio Water System Web site.

The University of Texas at San Antonio

The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Texas and the second largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural research and teaching institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be the Next Great Texas University, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment. UTSA serves more than 29,100 students in 64 bachelor’s, 47 master’s and 21 doctoral degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond.

Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute is an independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization using multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving. The institute occupies more than 1,200 acres and provides more than 2 million square feet of laboratories, test facilities, workshops and offices for more than 3,300 employees performing contract work for industry and government clients.

CPS Energy

CPS Energy is the nation’s largest municipally owned energy company providing both natural gas and electric service. Acquired by the City of San Antonio in 1942, the company serves approximately 700,000 electric customers and more than 320,000 natural gas customers in and around America’s seventh-largest city. CPS Energy ranks among the nation’s lowest-cost energy providers, owns the highest financial ratings of any electric system in the United States, stands No. 1 in wind-energy capacity among municipally owned utilities across the country and ranks No. 1 in Texas in the amount of solar-generated electricity under contract.

Student Spotlight: Steven Garza

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:27:55 -0500

Student Spotlight: Steven Garza

Three COS students win at SACNAS in Dallas: Hugo Espejel...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:54:31 -0500

Three COS students win at SACNAS in Dallas: Hugo Espejel (Physics), Toni Thornton (Chemistry) Jessica Briscoe (Biology)

UTSA Academy for Teacher Excellence hosts Oct. 24 conference

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:45:09 -0500

By Kris Rodriguez
Public Affairs Specialist

(Oct. 22, 2009)—The UTSA Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) will host the STEMsation II Mini Conference from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24 in Main Building Room 0.106 on the UTSA Main Campus. Free and open to San Antonio area teachers, the conference will feature more than a dozen presenters discussing the innovative methods they use to teach mathematics and science courses.

Featured speakers will include George Cheung, adjunct professor, and Nilsa Thorsos, associate professor of special education, from Azusa Pacific University in California. Their presentation,”StudioThirtySeven.com,” showcases an effective use of Web 2.0 in math and science classrooms from a practitioner’s viewpoint. With their guidance, students with special needs have achieved great success on state exams.

Teachers attending the conference will receive up to six hours of continuing professional education credits. Door prizes will include Academy for Teacher Excellence memorabilia, classroom materials and a Netbook.

Part of the UTSA College of Education and Human Development, the Academy for Teacher Excellence was established as a hub for school districts, community colleges and UTSA to collaboratively research, design, implement and evaluate educational programs that address emerging statewide and local educational issues associated with a growing diverse student population. A major focus is the implementation of a Title V Hispanic-serving institutions grant to utilize resources in the community to better prepare teachers in classrooms with diverse student populations.

To register for the conference, visit the STEMsation II Web site.

For more information, contact Effie Mata at (210) 458-3170 or e-mail the Academy for Teacher Excellence.

UTSA plant biologists win $690K from National Science Foundation

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:44:00 -0500

Pair of studies will reveal environmentally-friendly tactics to optimize plant growth

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

Jurgen Engelberth, assistant professor of plant biochemistry, and Valerie Sponsel, associate professor of biology, in the Department of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio were collectively awarded $690,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further their research in plant biology. Their respective studies will offer a better understanding of how plants can be manipulated to live longer and / or improve their harvests.

Engelberth has received $540,000 from the NSF for the next three years to research the effects of plant chemicals called green leafy volatiles. Plants release green leafy volatiles when they are cut or wounded by harmful agents such as herbivores or pathogens. Neighboring plants receive the green leafy volatiles from the damaged plant as odor, which triggers a complicated biological pathway that allows those neighboring plants to subtlety prime themselves for future damage.

Specifically, Engelberth will study how OPRs (12-oxo-phytodienoate reductases), a family of proteins that appears to integrate various stress signaling pathways, are involved in the regulation of priming plant defense responses to insect herbivores and fungal pathogens. Ultimately, Engelberth’s research will contribute to the development of environmentally-sound strategies to control pests.

Sponsel will receive $150,000 over the next year to research the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of plant hormones called gibberellins. The one-year interdisciplinary research project will be conducted with Garry Sunter, associate professor of biology, and Jianhua Ruan, assistant professor of computer science, and will include biochemical, molecular and computational approaches. This award brings Sponsel’s NSF support into its twentieth year.

Using Arabidopsis thaliana, which was the first plant to have its genome sequenced, Sponsel will study internal factors regulating the production of gibberellin. These hormones affect a plant’s life cycle from seed germination to flowering and seed production. Specifically, she will investigate how particular enzymes are regulated by gibberellins and other plant hormones. 136 gibberellins exist in plants, many of which are important intermediates in the production of biological active hormone, or its deactivation. To be effective signaling molecules hormones must use elegant molecular means to generate on/off signals. Sponsel’s research will contribute to a better understanding of how scientists can modify a plant’s genetics to manipulate the plant to produce a larger harvest.

“This research is extremely important. It is instantly translatable. Ultimately, plant biologists are finding ways to make plants live longer and produce more crops, and those are things that affect our food supply,” said George Perry, dean of the UTSA College of Sciences.

SECC Profile in Giving: Professor Karl Klose is Special Olympics advocate

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:25:23 -0500

By Wendy Frost
Director of Communications, College of Business

(Oct. 21, 2009)—When asked why it is important for him to contribute to the State Employee Charitable Campaign, Karl Klose, UTSA professor of microbiology, has two words — Special Olympics.

Klose has seen firsthand the inner workings of this organization. His younger brother Kevin, who has Down syndrome, has been an active participant in Special Olympics, competing in various events such as swimming, track and field, weight lifting, bowling and floor hockey.

“Special Olympics is a great organization,” said Klose. “It provides self confidence and self worth to individuals with disabilities. Almost any sport you can imagine, they participate in. The emphasis is on participating and feeling good about yourself, not winning or losing.”

Klose credits Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics, for providing this opportunity for his brother and others throughout the world. Shriver founded Special Olympics in 1968.

“Special Olympics makes a difference in lives,” said Klose. “I encourage everyone to sign up as a volunteer and to experience how much joy it brings to the people who participate. It is really a great thing to experience.”

With sports at the core, Special Olympics is a leader in the field of intellectual disability and the world’s largest movement dedicated to promoting respect, acceptance, inclusion and human dignity for people with intellectual disabilities. With more than 3.1 million athletes and more than 30,000 competitions around the world each year, Special Olympics transforms communities by inspiring people throughout the world to open their minds and celebrate the similarities common to all people.

——————————————

Have a heart and take part in UTSA’s 2009 State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC), which runs Oct. 1-31. SECC is the annual workplace giving campaign for State of Texas employees. With a 91-percent participation goal, remember — “We’re not done ‘til we’re 91!”

» Learn more at the UTSA State Employee Charitable Campaign Web site and watch for more stories on UTSA Today.

Nanomedicine expert Mauro Ferrari to conduct seminar Oct. 21 at UTSA

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:09:34 -0500

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

(Oct. 20, 2009)—UTSA will host a nanomedicine seminar featuring Mauro Ferrari from 4 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building Room 2.102 on the Main Campus. Ferrari will speak on “Three Dimensions of Individualized Nanomedicine.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

The seminar is the second of the Seminars in Translational Research (STRECH) monthly series hosted by UTSA and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to foster research collaboration between the two institutions.

Ferrari is professor and chair of the Division of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as well as a professor of internal medicine in its Department of Cardiology. Ferrari serves as professor of experimental therapeutics at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and as professor of bioengineering at Rice University.

At the Oct. 21 lecture, Ferrari will address the fundamental challenges of nanomedicine, including delivering the right bioactive agents at the right place and time and monitoring their effectiveness and any undesired effects as rapidly as possible.

STRECH is a collaborative project between the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science Novel Clinical and Translational Methodologies, UTSA’s Research Center in Minority Institutions, and the joint UTSA-UTHSCSA graduate program in biomedical engineering.

The STRECH seminars bring together investigators from basic, clinical and social sciences to highlight the bidirectional and multiple stages of the scientific translation of research discoveries from the laboratory bench to the bedside and, ultimately, the community.

——————————————-

About Mauro Ferrari

Nanomedicine researcher Mauro Ferrari uses semiconductor nanotechnology and mathematical modeling to solve problems in molecular medicine with a focus on applications in oncology and cardiology. He is regarded as a pioneer in the fields of BioMEMS, biomedical nanotechnology and multi-scale mathematics.

Among his many firsts are silicon-based nanochannel technology; multistage particulates for drug delivery; the rational design of nanovectors; and the use of nanotextured chips for the selective enrichment of the plasma peptidome for early detection of pathological states. Recently, Ferrari was featured in Nature’s “Straight Talk With…Mauro Ferrari.”