A&M System a Leader in Bioenergy
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A&M System For excellence in education, discovery and service VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 NOVEMBER 2007 INSIDE Foster, Huffines, Wilson Named A&M System Regents A&M SYSTEM BUILDING In July, Gov. Rick Perry announced the appointments of was in the U.S. Army and served during BOOM Morris Foster, J.L. Huffines and Jim Wilson to six-year World War II and the Korean War. Huffines terms on The Texas A&M University System Board of is a former board member of the Department The A&M System has nearly 60 Regents. of Mental Health and Mental Retardation construction projects underway. The new regents, all graduates of Texas A&M University, and is past chairman of the Texas State Pg. 2 are respected leaders in their professions and communi- Senior Colleges Board of Regents. Huffines ties. All have provided service leadership to Texas A&M in received the Texas A&M Distinguished SAN ANTONIO AND KILLEEN various capacities. Alumnus Award and was inducted into the J.L. Huffines CamPUSES To date, the three new appointees have participated in Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. Also at Texas two full Board of Regents meetings. Pending confirmation A&M, he served as president of the 12th Man Foundation and The A&M System and Texas by the Texas Senate, they replace outgoing regents Phil is an honorary life member of the Lettermen’s Association. Legislature are on track to establish stand-alone campuses in Adams, Wendy Gramm and Lowry Mays. About the new Huffines serves as a trustee of the Medical School Foundation San Antonio and Killeen. regents: Board at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Pg. 3 Morris E. Foster of Houston is presi- and director of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas. He also is a dent of ExxonMobil Production life member and board member of the State Fair of Texas and Company and vice president of Exxon a life member and past chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic HOPE FOR PaTIENTS WITH Mobil Corporation. He received a bach- Association. MacULAR DEGENERATION elor of science degree in mechanical Jim P. Wilson of Sugar Land is chairman of A&M Health Science Center engineering from Texas A&M University the board and CEO of JK Acquisition professor awarded $1.7 million for in 1965 and was inducted into the Corporation, a Houston-based investment company developing therapy for Academy of Distinguished Graduates in firm. He is founder and managing partner of patients with age-related macular 1993. Foster serves on the board of Texas Morris Foster RSTW Partners, a private debt and equity degeneration. A&M’s International Programs and is a member of the firm. He served as chairman of the board of Pg. 5 Chancellor’s 21st Century Council of Advisors for the A&M Supply ONE Holdings, Inc., a specialty pack- System. He is a member of the American Petroleum aging and distribution company, until July Institute, Society of Petroleum Engineers, and Texas Oil 2007. Wilson received a bachelor of business Jim Wilson TRAFFIC CONGESTION and Gas Association. Foster serves on numerous boards, administration degree in accounting from Texas A&M WORSENING IN CITIES including those of Scott & White Medical Institute, the University in 1981. He has served on numerous corporate and An annual study published by Greater Houston Partnership, and United Way of the Texas charitable boards, and currently serves on the boards of direc- Texas Transportation Institute Gulf Coast. tors of Alpha Circuits, Inc. and First Community Bank Fort details traffic congestion in cities J.L. Huffines of Dallas is chairman and owner of Huffines Bend. At Texas A&M, Wilson serves as a member of the Mays large and small. Auto Dealerships in Lewisville. He received a bachelor of Business School Development Council and as a member of the Pg. 6 science degree in economics and accounting from Texas 12th Man Foundation’s board of trustees. A&M University and is a member of the Class of 1944. He TEXas INSTITUTE FOR PRECLINIcaL STUDIES New institute at Texas A&M will From Field to Fuel Tank: help researchers move medical discoveries to the marketplace. A&M System a Leader in Bioenergy Pg. 7 The first year of the Texas A&M announced this spring that it will University System’s Agriculture and partner with the BioEnergy Alliance A&M-KINGSVILLE GaRNERS Engineering BioEnergy Alliance has to accelerate the development and $5 MILLION GRANT been, well, a real barn burner. conversion of feedstocks for manu- A $5 million grant from the Since July 2006, when the A&M facturing ethanol and other biofuels National Science Foundation will System’s two premier research agen- from cellulose. help minority-serving A&M- cies—the Texas Agricultural The top U.S. Department of Kingsville enhance its research. Experiment Station and the Texas Agriculture official for research, Pg. 7 Engineering Experiment Station— Undersecretary Gale Buchanan, formed a strategic alliance to solve toured feedstock development and important problems in bioenergy chemical conversion bio energy TaRLETON’S THERAPEUTIC RIDING PROGRam research, significant progress has research underway on the Texas been made to respond to the growing A&M campus. A program that gives people with global demands for clean, renewable The BioEnergy Alliance also show- special needs and varying ability alternative fuels. cased its capabilities to Jorge Lepra, levels the chance to challenge In May, the Texas Legislature appro- the Uruguayan minister of industry, Texas A&M chemical engineering themselves physically and priated $4 million to fund bioenergy energy and mining, who visited in professor Mark Holtzapple describes emotionally. his invention, the StarRotor engine, Pg. 8 research within the Texas June at the invitation of the U.S. Agricultural Experiment Station Department of Energy. The visit was which is three times more efficient (TAES) over the next two years. The in response to President Bush’s than today’s engines. research will support the creation of March visit to Uruguay, where he a bio-based economy involving the encouraged cooperation between LEGISLATION Pg. 3 The grant will be used to promote production, harvest and conversion the two countries. bioenergy efforts by hiring new, APPOINTMENTS Pg. 4 of Texas-grown feedstocks to ethanol, In July, Gov. Rick Perry awarded the commercially focused faculty to biodiesel and other liquid fuels. A&M System’s Bioenergy Alliance a accelerate the path to market for their CONTRACTS/GRANTS Pg. 6 Chevron Technology Ventures, $5 million grant from the state’s a division of Chevron USA, Inc., Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). see BIOENERGY pg. 4 1 Texas A&M University System Welcome to Experiences Building Boom by Amy Halbert A&M System Communications New buildings are cropping up all across the Texas A&M University System, with nearly 60 construc- tion projects totaling almost $1.4 billion underway. Half of those On behalf of The Texas A&M University System, projects belong to Texas A&M welcome to the first issue of our Quest newsletter. University, which has almost $700 million in construction for its We are launching this quarterly newsletter to keep campus alone. The new projects you posted on exciting news from the A&M System’s are being funded, in part, with nine universities, seven state tuition revenue bonds (TRBs) and agencies and comprehensive allocations from the Permanent health science center. University Fund (PUF). For the last fiscal year, the In this inaugural issue, System’s capital plan was $460 Construction is well underway on the new 220,000 you’ll learn more about million. In the span of a year, con- square foot, $95-million Interdisciplinary Life Sciences activities taking place at our struction projects have more than Building at Texas A&M University. campuses statewide, where tripled. Vergel Gay, managing we enroll more than 106,000 director of Facilities Planning and Construction (FP&C), has reorganized students. Perhaps you the department to better handle this new ings are in various stages of completion weren’t aware that one of challenge. throughout the System including: every five students in a The northern sector includes West • Texas A&M-Texarkana public senior institution in Texas A&M, Tarleton State University, · $20-million science and technology building on the new campus at Texas is enrolled at an A&M System university, and Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M- Texarkana and the campus in Killeen Bringle Lake every year we graduate more than 22,000 students. ($260 million in projects). The central • Texas A&M-Commerce Enrollment and programs at our centers in San area includes Texas A&M and the Bryan- · $25.4-million Sam Rayburn Memorial Antonio and Killeen are increasing, meaning these College Station area ($700 million in Student Center centers are well on their way to becoming full- projects). The south is comprised of Texas • Texas A&M University A&M International, Texas A&M-Corpus · $95-million interdisciplinary life fledged, four-year institutions of higher learning. Christi, Texas A&M-Kingsville and the sciences building As you may know, our state legislators made higher new San Antonio campus ($183 million · $66-million physics building education a top priority during the last legislative in projects). · $100-million emerging technologies session. We greatly appreciate the time and attention In 2006, the A&M System developed a and economic development inter- disciplinary building lawmakers gave to ensuring fair and equitable master plan, which required that all System members submit plans. Gay has • Texas A&M Health Science Center resources for the A&M System. We thought you hired three program management firms · $130-million campus in west Bryan should know how critical these resources are to our to oversee construction in the northern • Texas A&M-Kingsville efforts to serve the citizens of our state, including our and southern regions of the state and the · $12-million recreation sports center students, faculty and staff.