Agenda Item IX-K: Aerospace Technology Research Report
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Agenda Item IX-K Academic Quality and Workforce Aerospace Technology Research Conducted by Public Universities A Report to the Texas Legislature Senate Bill 458, 84th Texas Legislature June 2016 DRAFT Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Robert W. Jenkins, CHAIR Austin Stuart W. Stedman, VICE CHAIR Houston David D. Teuscher, MD, SECRETARY TO THE BOARD Beaumont Arcilia C. Acosta Dallas S. Javaid Anwar Midland Haley DeLaGarza, STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Victoria Fred Farias, III, O.D. McAllen Ricky A. Raven Sugar Land Janelle Shepard Weatherford John T. Steen Jr. San Antonio Raymund A. Paredes, COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION Agency Mission The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board promotes access, affordability, quality, success, and cost efficiency in the state’s institutions of higher education, through Closing the Gaps and its successor plan, resulting in a globally competent workforce that positions Texas as an international leader in an increasingly complex world economy. Agency Vision The THECB will be recognized as an international leader in developing and implementing innovative higher education policy to accomplish our mission. Agency Philosophy The THECB will promote access to and success in quality higher education across the state with the conviction that access and success without quality is mediocrity and that quality without access and success is unacceptable. The Coordinating Board’s core values are: Accountability: We hold ourselves responsible for our actions and welcome every opportunity to educate stakeholders about our policies, decisions, and aspirations. Efficiency: We accomplish our work using resources in the most effective manner. Collaboration: We develop partnerships that result in student success and a highly qualified, globally competent workforce. Excellence: We strive for preeminence in all our endeavors. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of services. Please cite this report as follows: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. (2016). Report on Aerospace Technology Research. Austin, TX. i Table of Contents Overview of Aerospace Technology Research .............................................................. 1 Research Expenditures ................................................................................................................ 1 Awards for Research Grants ...................................................................................................... 2 Research Fields ............................................................................................................................... 3 Research Topics .............................................................................................................................. 3 Awards for Aerospace Technology Interest Area.......................................................... 4 Texas A&M University (TAMU) with Agencies ..................................................................... 5 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-Corpus Christi) .................................... 12 Texas Tech University (Texas Tech) ..................................................................................... 13 The University of Texas at Arlington (UT-Arlington) ...................................................... 16 The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) .................................................................. 44 The University of Texas at Brownsville (UT-Brownsville) .......................................... 113 The University of Texas at Dallas (UT-Dallas) ................................................................. 115 The University of Texas at El Paso (UT-El Paso)............................................................. 117 The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT-San Antonio) ......................................... 136 University of Houston (UH) .................................................................................................... 140 University of Houston-Clear Lake (UH-Clear Lake) ....................................................... 153 University of North Texas (North Texas) .......................................................................... 154 ii This page has been left blank intentionally. iii Overview of Aerospace Technology Research This report provides a summary of aerospace technology research conducted by public senior colleges and universities, as directed by Senate Bill 458, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, codified as Government Code Chapter 481, Subchapter A, Section 481.0066, Aerospace and Aviation Office: (d-2)(3) a summary of work performed as part of the aerospace and aviation office's partnership with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, including a summary prepared by the board of the research conducted by public senior colleges or universities, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code. Research Expenditures The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB or Coordinating Board) collects research expenditure data from Texas institutions of higher education in the special interest area of aerospace technology as part of each institution’s annual financial report. Research expenditures are available electronically on the webpage www.thecb.state.tx.us/research. Table 1 shows total research expenditures in the special interest area of aerospace technology for the last three years combined. Table 1. Aerospace Technology Research Expenditures, Fiscal Years 2013-2015 Aerospace Technology Institution Research Expenditures 2013-2015 Prairie View A&M University $70,000 Texas A&M University w/ System & Agencies $14,290,000 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi $870,000 Texas Tech University $220,000 The University of Texas at Arlington $14,870,000 The University of Texas at Austin $32,730,000 The University of Texas at Brownsville $1,970,000 The University of Texas at Dallas $4,870,000 The University of Texas at El Paso $12,090,000 The University of Texas at San Antonio $1,280,000 University of Houston $5,400,000 University of Houston-Clear Lake $530,000 University of North Texas $3,940,000 Total $93,100,000 Source: Coordinating Board, Annual Financial Reports 1 Table 2 shows the source of funding for these expenditures for the last three years combined. Table 2. Aerospace Technology Research Expenditures, Fiscal Years 2013-2015 Aerospace Technology Source of Funds Research Expenditures 2013-2015 Federal $73,600,000 State Appropriation and Grants $4,400,000 Institutional Resources $10,200,000 Private $4,900,000 Total $93,100,000 Source: Coordinating Board, Annual Financial Reports Awards for Research Grants To compile a summary of work performed in the special interest area of aerospace technology research during academic year 2015, THECB staff identified the Texas public institutions of higher education that reported research expenditures in this area on their annual financial reports for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. THECB staff then contacted institutional representatives from those institutions and requested a list of their active awards for FY 2015. This information is presented in the section “Awards for Aerospace Technology Interest Area” (see page 4). Research grant awards typically are multi-year awards, and therefore, the total award amounts for active grants during FY 2015 is higher than the year’s total expenditures. Table 3 shows research grant awards for aerospace technology by source of funding. More than half of the award funding was from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the national defense agencies Department of Defense (DOD), the Air Force, Army, and the Navy. Table 3. Aerospace Technology Awards, Fiscal Year 2015 Aerospace Technology Source of Funds Awards 2015 NASA $50,300,000 Defense (DOD, Air Force, Army, Navy) $40,200,000 National Science Foundation $9,100,000 Other (federal, state, and undisclosed) $6,100,000 Private and Nonprofits $17,700,000 Sub-Recipient Funds $19,700,000 Total $143,100,000 Source: Institutions of higher education with expenditures in the special interest area of aerospace technology. Note: The original source of sub-recipient funds is not reported. 2 Research Fields Aerospace technology grants were awarded predominantly in the research field of engineering. However, apart from engineering, a large number of other research fields received awards in aerospace technology, including multiple fields in the natural sciences. Awards also were given in mathematics, manufacturing, and sociology. The list below shows the diversity of the research fields that received awards under the special interest area of aerospace technology: Aeromechanics Astronomy Biology Biochemistry Chemistry Computer Science and Computational Engineering Engineering: Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Engineering Geology Geosciences, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, and Climate Science Health and Human Performance Manufacturing and Systems Engineering Materials Science and Materials Engineering Mathematics Nanoscience Physics, Astrophysics, and Astrodynamics Renewable Energy Science Sociology Space Science Research Topics Given the large number of research fields involved in aerospace technology research, research topics under investigation are accordingly diverse. The topics or categories