$5 million Grant Awarded to Develop New Center

The College of Engineering at UTSA announced today it will receive $5 million from the National Science Foundation over the next five years to create a research and educational center on Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction (SiViRT Center).

The SiViRT Center’s goals are multi-faceted and include attracting under-representative minorities (URM) to careers in engineering and science, as well as improving the retention rates of those students. By effectually combining education and research, the SiViRT Center will establish itself as a research leader in the areas of Simulation, Visualization and Real-Time Prediction and enhance the research capabilities and productivity of the university, in line with UTSA 2016. A research team led by Stathis Michaelides of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, will oversee the Center and its successes.

Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), this grant is the largest ARRA award received by the university thus far

$242,000 in Funding Available to Faculty for New Collaborative Research

The Office of the Vice President of Research (VPR) is offering $242,000 to faculty to fund proposals that will establish new and innovative, collaborative and multidisciplinary research programs in one or more of the university’s five strategic areas of excellence: health, security, energy and the environment, human and social development, and sustainability. Proposals for UTSA’s 2010/2011 Collaborative Research Seed Grant Program (CRSGP) and Tenure-track Research Award Competition (TRAC) are due at 5 p.m. on March 16, 2009 in the Office of Assistant Vice President for Research (MS 4.03.55).

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COE Receives Federal Funding for Fossil Fuel Research

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the College of Engineering a $199,884, 24-month grant to study energy combustion. This grant bolsters UTSA’s agenda of becoming a tier-one university. The research team, led by Mechanical Engineering department chair and professor, Stathis Michaelides, will use a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) code developed by Michaelides and his students to simulate the flow and interactions of particles with gases in reactors, gasifiers, etc. Results of Michaelides’ research will hopefully lead to the development of more efficient reactors that will trap pollutants and other products of combustion.