Advance 2009 - Introduction
The online version of Advance 2009 Magazine is now available, and may be viewed in several formats. Click the 'Open publication' link below to view the magazine online via Issuu (requires Flash Reader). You may also read the magazine online in HTML (click on 'HTML (web) version below), or you can download a PDF copy via the 'Adobe PDF version' link below.
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Letter From the Interim Vice President for Research
Welcome to the exciting world of research and discovery that flourishes at Texas A&M University and its branch campuses in Galveston and Qatar. Our 10th edition of Advance will take you on a stimulating journey, as its pages unfold exciting stories that will capture your imagination and arouse your curiosity.
With almost all of the 450 faculty reinvestment positions filled, the research environment is evolving rapidly into an even more vibrant landscape. Furthermore, a new university-wide academic master planning process was launched in fall 2008, and as part of this process, a major research roadmap exercise inspired more than 1,100 faculty to participate in identifying landmark areas for advancing Texas A&M to higher levels. These research landmark areas will be announced in summer 2009.
In addition to our faculty growth and academic master planning, our research infrastructure is expanding in remarkable ways. The $100M Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building is near completion, and faculty are preparing to move in by January 2010. Also close to completion are two buildings that will house the Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine and the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies. And there is more! The George P. and Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and the George P. Mitchell Physics Building edifices add to a beautiful panorama along University Drive with its proximity to the new Jack E. Brown Engineering Building. Construction on the $100M Emerging Technology and Economic Development Building began this spring, and it too will add to this magnificent expanse in support of science and engineering research and education.
Texas A&M continues to grow in national rankings and international reputation. As a result, the research expenditures as reported to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for Texas A&M in 2008 exceeded $605M for science and non-science fields. This reflects a 28 percent growth in research over the last five years and a growth of 38.67 percent in federal research alone. Texas A&M is ranked third nationally by the National Science Foundation for universities without a medical school. Additionally, since 2003, the number of graduate students has increased by 19 percent.
Research at Texas A&M is global—spanning every continent of the world. To showcase some of our international collaborations, we are sponsoring the biennial China-U.S. Relations Conference in Beijing on 21-23 October 2009, which will be the fourth such event with the first one held in 2003. The Research Roundtables are a popular feature of the conference, and productive collaborations have been formed from these meetings. Also, a joint meeting with CONACYT will be held in June 2009 to highlight collaborative projects between researchers at Texas A&M and those at various universities in Mexico. And, of course, our faculty in Qatar are ramping up their research programs with many of the projects being done in collaboration with local industry and other researchers from around the world.
I must emphasize that Texas A&M attracts some of the brightest students from all over the world, and they are an integral part of all our research projects.
I have been privileged to serve this past year as interim vice president for research and oversee these extraordinary dynamic activities and changes. We can capture only a snapshot of the many and varied research programs in this 10th issue of Advance. The articles are amazing, and the photography is fabulous. I hope you enjoy the experience of our 2009 edition of Advance.
Theresa A. Maldonado, Ph.D., P.E.
Interim Vice President for Research
