myUTSAUTSA TodayVisitDirectorySearch
myUTSAUTSA TodayVisitDirectorySearch

Mechanical EngineeringMechanical Engineering

  • Undergraduate Program
  • Graduate Program
  • Students
  • Faculty & Staff
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Advisory Council
    • Resources for Faculty
    • Job Openings
  • Research
    • Research Areas
    • Research Labs and Centers
  • Contact
  • News & Announcements
    • 2020-2021 Annual Report
    • 2019-2020 Annual Report
    • 2018-2019 Annual Report
    • 2018 Quick Facts
UTSA CEID

Research at UTSA: Year in Review

Research at UTSA: Year in Review

by utsaengineer / Wednesday, 07 February 2018 / Published in Biomedical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, COE Announcements, Electrical and Computer Engineering, General, News, UTSA COE

In fiscal year 2016-2017, UTSA grew its institutional research portfolio, engaged more students, and built partnerships with industry and government to expand funded research. As a result, the 2017 fiscal year final research numbers have been the highest to date in UTSA’s history.

Total research expenditures increased from US $56.8 million in FY 2016 to US $68.1 million in FY 2017, an uptick of 19.9 percent. The university’s restricted research expenditures grew from US $36.4 million in FY 2016 to US $40.1 million in FY 2017. This growth will help UTSA move closer toward becoming recognized as a research intensive (R1) university, as measured by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and meeting eligibility for Texas’ National Research University Fund (NRUF).

UTSA researchers received substantial federal grants in many fields including cybersecurity – establishing the CREST Center for Security and Privacy Enhanced Cloud Computing (C-SPECC) – brain health, mechanical engineering, chemistry, drug discovery, neuroscience, infectious diseases and student success initiatives. In total, 361 new awards were given in FY 2016-2017, worth $75.8 million. Two new research centers were created: the Autism Research Center (ARC), dedicated to autism analysis, assessment and treatment and, more recently, the Center for Community Based and Applied Health Research.

“The research enterprise at UTSA has grown tremendously due to the collaborative nature of our colleges, our deans and our associate deans of research. They work together to support our faculty in growing their research portfolios, and engage more faculty and students in research activities,” said Bernard Arulanandam, UTSA interim vice president for research.

The university’s federal partnerships significantly strengthened with the opening of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Cyber South office at UTSA. With funding from the San Antonio Life Sciences Institute (SALSI), military health research and training were supported by UTSA and UT Health – San Antonio, working with the San Antonio Military Health System (SAMHS) and the Uniformed Services University Health Sciences Center (USUHSC). That research resulted in collaborative seed programs, extramural grant applications/awards, conferences and joint professional development opportunities. With 179 abstracts submitted, 65 podium presentations and 125 poster presentations, the fourth annual SURF conference brought more than 500 researchers from the region to the UTSA campus to share research and build new partnerships.

Facilitated by a strategic alliance of the university’s deans, Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Research, UTSA recruited faculty members who are nationally recognized in key research areas of cybersecurity and brain health, including the new Semmes Foundation Chair in Cell Biology. The UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers also added two new members – Drs. Anson Joo Ong and Jose Lopez-Ribot – this past year, bringing the total number to 15 faculty researchers, and launched an annual lecture.

The Office of Research Support (ORS) continued to deliver a robust slate of research support and faculty development activities. In collaboration with UTSA Teaching and Learning Services, The New Faculty Institute was launched to provide new faculty introduction to UTSA’s teaching and research culture, share institutional resources and best practices and promote collaboration. In FY17, ORS gave 46 research awards totaling $712,392 to support research on campus. As of December 1, 2017, UTSA institutional seed grants are open for application and UTSA faculty members are encouraged to apply. At the annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Showcase, over 500 attended with 138 students presenting, and 31 posters being recognized as “Best in Show”. The first volume of the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Works (JURSW) was published.

The Office of Commercialization and Innovation (OCI), continued to expand UTSA’s commercialization programs, build partnerships with industry and the grow the innovation ecosystem. The number of NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) teams participating at the national level doubled over the previous two years combined, with six teams advancing to further refine their business models for their new technologies, putting UTSA in the top 6 percent of participating institutions. In FY 17, OCI received 62 new technology disclosures, a 17 percent increase in disclosures from the previous year. UTSA mechanical engineer Bing Dong was named the 2017 UTSA Innovator of the Year, in recognition of his drive to develop and launch the startup Leaptran in order to provide a way to make buildings more energy efficient and responsive to their occupants. An additional 29 other UTSA researchers were recognized for their patents, licenses and I-Corps participation. Electrical engineer David Akopian was UTSA’s latest inductee to the National Academy of Inventors (2016). He joins UTSA President Taylor Eighmy (2013) and Interim Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs C. Mauli Agrawal (2015).

Working with the Office of International Programs, the UTSA Office of the Vice President for Research is expanding research opportunities for faculty and students through strategic connections with key international institutions. In November 2017, UTSA and Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish collaboration activities and facilitate long-term academic and economic cooperation between both institutions. In October 2017, UTSA signed a MOU with Technical University-Darmstadt in Germany, a key component of a greater cultural mission between the City of San Antonio and the City of Darmstadt to build cultural and educational bridges through a sister cities agreement.

Categories

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical Announcements
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • COE Announcements
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • General
  • Mechanical Announcements
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • News
  • Uncategorized
  • UTSA COE

Recent Posts

  • 2020-2021 Annual Report

    ...
  • Prof. Frank Chen Received UTSA President’s Distinguish Achievement Award for Advancing Globalization

    See the announcement at UTSA news....
  • Graduate Student Vinicio Ynciarte Wins 3rd Place in NACE Conference Student Poster Competition

    The Harvey Herro category is for applied corros...
  • ME Undergraduate Student Trevor Tackett Received NACE Foundation Scholarship

    The Gordon Rankin Corrosion Engineering Scholar...
  • Save the Date: UTSA Tech Symposium 2021, Virtual Showcase on Friday, April 30

    Join UTSA’s College of Engineering this Friday,...

Archives

  • April 2022
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Building, EB 3.04.02
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249

Phone: 210-458-7082
Fax: 210-458-6504

Contact COE Webmaster:  coe@utsa.edu

Our Mission
The mission of the Mechanical Engineering Department is to provide excellent educational and research opportunities to our undergraduate and graduate students who will contribute to the technological and economic development of the community, the region and the nation.

The faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering values excellence in teaching, research, and service to the community and the profession. Our students learn to be technically competent and socially responsible, while they acquire a solid background to perform diverse engineering functions; to succeed in graduate education; and acquire life-long learning skills.

© 2021 The University of Texas at San Antonio | One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX 78249 | Information 210-458-4011
Campus Alerts | Jobs | Required Links | Policies | UT System | Report Fraud
Produced by University Communications and Marketing

TOP