University of Houston
Texas Medical Center Partnerships
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 2,600,000
Description and Justification
Recognizing the breadth of health-related programs at the University of Houston (over 200 academic programs, clinical opportunities, and research initiatives) and their importance to associated industries and the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the UH System Board of Regents has charged UH with expanding and enhancing our partnerships and activities in this field.
Until now, the majority of UH initiatives in the health sciences have evolved individually, without the benefit of a central organizational structure to support them. Given the large number of these activities, the significant financial investments they represent, and their importance to the Houston economy, such an uncoordinated approach stands to dilute their impact and is not administratively efficient.
State funding would enable UH to establish a new office at UH focused exclusively on developing, managing, and promoting health-related initiatives and partnerships, especially with the Texas Medical Center. The new office would be co-located on the UH campus and our building at the TMC. Primary responsibilities would be to build relationships with TMC institutions, identify and advance partnership opportunities, and organize programs so that they have the greatest impact on our constituencies. Major outcomes would include increased research funding, more and better prepared health professionals (e.g., optometrists, pharmacists, psychologists), and enhanced programmatic quality through shared resources (e.g., equipment, facilities, faculty, students) with Texas Medical Center institutions.
Factors Impacting Strategy
A fundamental component of the UH mission is to be a resource to the communities and industries of the Houston area. Among the largest and most important of these are the health care and biotechnology industries, which are centered around the Texas Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals and academic institutions. In service to its mission, UH plays a major role in this arena. Currently, there are hundreds of on-going initiatives related to the health sciences. These take the form of academic programs, clinical opportunities, and research initiatives. Principal among UH health-related programs are the Colleges of Optometry and Pharmacy, which produce approximately 200 graduates/health professionals per year. Other programs with strong health-related components include psychology, social work, communication disorders, law, education, and the natural sciences and engineering. In terms of research activity, current funding for UH health-related R&D exceeds $77 million in over 230 projects, many of which involve partnerships with TMC institutions.
Partnership to Support Public Schools
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 3,882,626
Description and Justification
Special item funds appropriated through the Partnership to Support Public Schools are invested in University of Houston programs dedicated to improving the quality of public education and enhancing student success. Central among these is the Consistency Management and Cooperative DisciplineÆ (CMCD) program, which is a highly successful comprehensive instructional/management reform model that combines responsibility for learning and classroom organization among teachers and students. Third party evaluations and internal research have shown that CMCD reduced discipline problems and office referrals by 48 % to 78 % per school, while increasing student achievement on national standardized tests by three quarters of a year.
Other programs in which funds are invested include the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES), the Institute of Urban Education, and the Houston Teachers Institute. Research conducted through the TIMES program focuses on improving the English reading skills of native Spanish-speaking elementary students. Programs conducted through the Institute of Urban Education bring students to campus, educate them about the importance of higher education, and guide them in pursuing a high school curriculum that will prepare them to enroll in college. Evaluations of public school programs are also being conducted in important areas such as reading and teacher professional development. The Houston Teachers Institute helps public school teachers develop innovative curricula that are then available to the larger public school community.
Exceptional item funding would provide increased support to the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES). Funding would be invested in personnel support needed for program development, administration, and operations (e.g., information technology support for web-based and hand-held data collections, data warehousing and development of public use data files, and research dissemination).
Factors Impacting Strategy
The State of Texas has made providing quality public education a priority, as it is essential for students to succeed in college and become productive members of the workforce (which increasingly requires higher levels of education). Programs offered through the Partnership to Support Public Schools improve the quality of education provided to K-12 students through the dissemination of quality instruction and education methods. Key among these are the Consistency Management and Cooperative DisciplineÆ program (CMCD) and the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics (TIMES).
CMCD teaches self-discipline to students and allows their teachers to spend more quality time with reading and mathematics instruction. It provides for safe and orderly classrooms and schools. It is research-based and provides schools with learning environment profiles and data on the impact of the program in discipline, achievement and climate. TIMES improves the educational outcomes of children through advanced measurement, evaluation, and statistical research methods. Researchers direct and collaborate on research projects in Texas public schools serving low-income and ethnic minority children, particularly students of limited English proficiency. TIMES is currently engaged in research projects in over 200 Texas public elementary schools and is directing the evaluation of state/federal programs involving over 500 schools, and has led the continued development of early reading assessments used throughout the state.
Texas Center for Superconductivity
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 7,595,000
Description and Justification
TCSUH was created in June 1987 by the Texas Legislature to establish a world-class center to conduct long-term multidisciplinary research and development, education, and technology transfer programs in high temperature superconductivity (HTS) and related materials. Its charge was to advance and continue the momentum at UH created by the discovery of a new class of materials that become superconducting above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen by Dr. Paul C. W. Chu and colleagues. By building the critical mass of scientists, engineers, post-doctoral fellows, students, and technicians necessary to remain competitive in the United States and the world, TCSUH is now the leading international center for superconducting and other advanced materials research, and serves as an informational resource to the U.S. government, industry, academia and K-12 education institutions.
TCSUH's education and industry cooperative programs enhance the capabilities of the Texas and the U.S. science and engineering communities to meet industrial and government needs through utilization of HTS materials. TCSUH has developed materials and prototype applications based on HTS and related materials that have led to the development of HTS wire and are driving future applications and products for HTS. The center is now also working to discover new superconductors and improve and develop current HTS materials for use in advanced devices for the medical, energy, transportation, and communication industries.
Factors Impacting Strategy
High Temperature Superconductivity (HTS) has been identified by the U.S. Government as one of the critical technologies for the nation, and as one of the 30 most important technologies for the next century, and one of the most important engineering discoveries in the last 75 years (Scientific American, Sept. 1995).
TCSUH is viewed as the most comprehensive HTS research and development center in the United States, and is recognized as the most visible and productive center in the nation for HTS basic and applied research as evidenced by being selected to host the prestigious M2S-HTS-VI International Conference (on superconductivity) in 2000 and the 2002 Applied Superconductivity Conference servicing over 3,500 U.S. and international scientists from industry, government, and academia.
TCSUH has also initiated a comprehensive applied research and technology transfer program to move HTS science into the world market place. One of the focus areas, HTS second generation wire, has become a national agenda for HTS application to support next generation large current superconducting devices such as motors, generators, transformers, and transmission wires. This program promises not only economic development in Texas, but increased efficiency and energy savings for the whole country. These efforts are being enhanced by partnerships with U.S. Department of Energy labs, the U.S. Department of Defense, and with industry including a UH spin-off company, Metal Oxide Technologies, Inc, which is dedicated to the commercialization of second generation HS wire and resultant economic growth in Texas.
Small Business Development Center
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 6,108,066
Description and Justification
The Small Business Development Center was established in 1984 under an agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and includes the University of Houston Small Business Development Center (UH SBDC) and the UH-Victoria Small Business Development Center (UHV SBDC).
As one of the preeminent SBDCs in the country and a flagship of small business assistance in Texas, the UH SBDC's focus is providing quality assistance to the small business community by increasing growth and survivability. The UH SBDC accomplishes its mission by providing free one-on-one business counseling, low-cost business seminars, government procurement assistance, international trade, and technology development. The UH SBDC has had a positive impact on client performance and a corresponding positive economic impact on local communities. An independent impact study showed that long-term clients of the SBDC generated over $143 million in new sales and approximately 2,036 new jobs in 2001-2002.
In addition, the study indicated that SBDC assistance helped clients obtain $68.5 million in start-up and expansion capital, and new tax revenues of $19.1 million in 2001-2002. Exceptional item funding would enable the UH SBDC to provide assistance at no or low cost to start-up technology companies. Key drivers of a successful technology company range from early-stage assistance in taking an idea from prototype through the patenting process to commercialization, as well as identifying and accessing capital at all stages in the businesses lifecycle. Existing resources that are available to assist companies within the Houston-area are generally costly and typically geared toward end-stage development.
The UHV SBDC also provides agribusiness/agricultural assistance to meet the needs of its 11 rural counties. From 1999 to 2003, UHV SBDC services resulted in 17,796 counseling hours to 2,064 clients and 8,173 training hours for 2,904 clients (198 seminars), resulting in 64 firms gaining $34.5 million in new capital injection, a $19 million increase in sales, and the creation or retention of 147 businesses and 797 jobs in the area.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The Small Business Development Center special line item funding is used as cash match to federal contracts, and without this funding from the state, over $1.77 million in federal funds and approximately $2.71 million in other local community funds and program income would be lost annually, not to mention the state and local economic impact due to the loss of SBDC services. Our 10 network partners such as Angelina College, Blinn College, Lamar State College, and San Jacinto College, who provide services to small businesses in the outlying Gulf Coast area, and who are funded by UH through our SBA cooperative agreement, would also lose close to an additional $ 1 million in funding for client services. The loss of SBDC services to the Houston, Gulf Coast and Victoria business communities would have a dramatic negative impact as ten of thousands of start-up entrepreneurs and existing business owners would be unable to access professional business services. Based on historical data, sales growth, job creation, and capital expansion would be significantly reduced with a major loss being in the inner city. The combination of the above factors would certainly cause declining tax revenues and job expansion with our two most recent impact studies suggesting cumulative loss of approximately $43.1 million in tax revenues over the biennium, as well as 3,372 new jobs.
Texas Learning and Computation Center (TLC2 )
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 4,075,380
Description and Justification
In 1999, UH built an environment for the design and delivery of cutting-edge, technology-based research and learning tools - the Texas Learning and Computation Center (TLC2). TLC2 has established and operated a state-of-the-art computational and storage facility, as well as visualization and networking facilities for research and experimentation. TLC2 promotes economic development in the Houston metropolitan area and the state through high-tech innovation and workforce education. The use of TLC2 facilities has enhanced existing and encouraged new partnerships with the Texas Medical Center. Joint symposia, workshops and classes are conducted as a part of these partnerships.
Seed monies granted to TLC2 projects impact investigators in four colleges at UH. Faculty receiving seed funds are successful in securing federal funding (in the last biennium about five times the funding received through the line item). TLC2 has, with the support of a federal grant, created a pipeline of students to address the nationwide shortage of qualified science, engineering, and math professionals. TLC2 has provided opportunities for K-12 students and teachers to become involved in the center and to guide students toward studies in the computational sciences at an early stage of their education. These efforts, undertaken as part of TLC2's educational mission, benefit the state in the production of a trained workforce in high-growth areas of the economy, such as the health care, energy, computer and communications sectors.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The economic future of Texas is inextricably tied to that of Houston. The Houston metropolitan area comprises approximately 22 % of the state's workforce and 28 % of the state's economy. Economically, Houston is the center of the world's energy industry, and the computer, communications, and biotechnology industries represent a large segment of the local economy. TLC2 helps grow this knowledge-based economy through cutting-edge research and development in the computational sciences. Houston is also home to numerous universities, community colleges and school districts, including Houston ISD, which enrolls over 200,000 students. TLC2 works with these institutions (especially public schools) to address the needs of their students. Through centers such as the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, TLC2 engages members of diverse communities to help nurture and graduate first generation college students.
Texas trails other states and nations by several years in establishing a communications infrastructure for research and education. The Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) consortium, which includes Texas higher education and research organizations, is establishing a state data communications network comparable to those in other states and nations, and to connect to the National Lambda Rail (NLR). TLC2 is pursuing opportunities to establish a Houston area communications network connecting UH, the Texas Medical Center, and Rice University at state-of-the art levels, and then connecting these institutions to Internet2 and NLR.
Commercial Development of Space
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 844,004
Description and Justification
The Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center (SVEC), an industry/government/academia-sponsored NASA Research Partnership Center promotes applied research, technology development, and the commercialization of advanced thin film materials developed terrestrially and in space for economic benefit to Texas and the nation. SVEC has formed a consortium of 32 industry, government and academia affiliates to advance and develop thin film materials and devices for commercial application and economic development, which are now advancing 15 separate technologies. Specific product developments underway are semiconductor thin film infrared lasers for defense and environmental monitoring applications; high efficiency solar cells for space and terrestrial electric power applications; on-chip sensors for environmental monitoring and medical applications; thin film solid oxide fuel cells for distributed electric power applications; a new resistive random access computer memory; and thin film ceramic optical micro-detectors for restoration of sight in the retinally blind. SVEC has licensed technologies and started five spin-off companies in its technology transfer efforts. Three of the SVEC spin-off companies have established manufacturing facilities in Texas with nearly $24 million of private investment, and have brought more than 100 jobs and $40 million of economic growth to Texas in the past two years. SVEC has leveraged Special Item funds by more than 10:1 for industry-driven R&D leading to economic growth. SVEC has generated over $350 million of economic benefit for Texas in the past ten years.
Factors Impacting Strategy
Externally, as a NASA Research Partnership Center, SVEC has already brought more than $350 million of economic benefit to Texas. SVEC has established itself as a technology development partner for industry, and promises to form additional partnerships with industry in the development of new microelectronics products. SVEC has spun-off five companies in Texas, patented 16 technologies, and been recognized as one of the foremost developers of new technologies for space and terrestrial applications. SVEC's Wake Shield Facility program has garnered the respect and admiration of space technologists, materials scientists, and industrialists, and as a result of the successful thin film materials and device development in the vacuum of space, a program on the fabrication of solar cells on the surface of the Moon has resulted. The lunar program supports the President's Space Exploration Initiative and responds to NASA's need for new technologies for space exploration and utilization. Internally, SVEC has productively worked to disseminate its basic and applied knowledge through outreach to the Texas and the national industrial sectors. This has been supported by a new R&D program incorporating students and faculty from science, engineering, business and law into joint technology and product development groups. SVEC has also developed a research program for undergraduates to entice underrepresented students into science and technology fields. Both of these initiatives have resulted in the advancement of SVEC's technology development and technology transfer programs.
Health Law and Policy Institute
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 1,000,000
Description and Justification
The Health Law & Policy Institute's Health Legislation Research Center provides legislators and staff with detailed reports, analyses of relevant state and federal legislative and judicial developments, background information about recent developments in medical and health services research, and expertise on a range of health law and policy issues that are critical to the Legislature. During the 78th Legislature, the institute completed over a dozen research projects for members of the legislature on topics ranging from health care privacy, to medical malpractice reform, to newborn screening, to bioterrorism.
During the current biennium, the institute is assisting legislators with interim charges in areas such as mental health, medical savings accounts, and Medicaid legislation. The Health Law & Policy Institute publishes a monthly Update on Health specifically for the use of members of the Texas Legislature. Update on Health summarizes recent developments in federal law and legislative initiatives from other state legislatures; analyzes relevant federal and state court opinions; monitors regulatory activity; and explores recent medical or health services research results of particular pertinence to state policy makers. The institute also sponsors an additional legislative and public education program, Health Law Perspectives: Analyses of Recent Development in Health Law. Health Law Perspectives is a web-based publication providing current information on health care developments that recently received a five star rating for the excellence of its content.
Exceptional item funding would permit the Health Law & Policy Institute to increase the number of legislative fellows who work in the offices of Texas legislators, conducting health law and policy research on their behalf. This request would support the addition of two legislative fellows to work for a 10-month period. In addition, the funding increase would allow the hiring of a chief research faculty member with a background in health care finance to coordinate research projects and to bring more advanced skills to bear on complex projects.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The state government has recognized the importance of health care. The Health Law & Policy Institute is one of the nation's foremost interdisciplinary centers for the study of health law and policy. It has been ranked the number one health law program in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for much of the past decade, including three of the past five years.
University Eye Institute
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 1,500,000
Description and Justification
The College of Optometry and the University Eye Institute have provided eye and vision care services to the citizens of Texas for more than 50 years. Presently the annual patient census base in our Houston community-based clinics and newly established clinic in the Dallas Housing Authority is approximately 37,000; nearly 50 % of these patients are medically indigent. As an outreach program, the college provides non-reimbursed or partially reimbursed care in several community-based health clinics, including the Richmond State School for the Retarded, Head Start Programs of Houston, Migrant Health Centers in South Texas, Good Neighbor Health Care Center, Rusk Elementary School Health Clinic, San Jose Clinic, and City of Houston Health Department. In addition, the college provides vision screening and early detection services to Houston ISD and other independent school districts and to over 40 area organizations such as shelters and service units for the homeless, senior centers, community centers and local Lions Club. All these services are provided to an Ñat risk populationæ that has limited resources to pay for comprehensive eye care. Exceptional item funding, which would be used to hire additional personnel and to provide support for capital equipment and operating expenses, would enable the University Eye Institute to expand services to almost double the number of medically indigent patients that are provided with basic vision care.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The numbers of medically indigent patients cared for in the University Eye Institute and its community-based clinics have far exceeded the available resources. Approximately 50 % of the patients seen annually at these facilities are uninsured, underinsured, or medically indigent. Acute care and trauma and general medical care needs are met by City and County Hospital Districts while the College of Optometry clinics have assumed responsibility for the eye and vision health of tens of thousands of patients annually who have little or no access to primary eye care.
Health professions education programs in Texas require and are enhanced by the breadth and depth of medical problems inherent in this impoverished population. The need to train doctors in environments which promote and demonstrate Ñservice while learningæ is more essential today than ever before. These two complementary goals (public health and education) for the medically indigent population are best addressed with proper screening, early diagnosis and comprehensive care in a community-based education and training environment.
Asian-American Studies Center
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 500,000
Description and Justification
The Asian-American Studies Center (AASC) at the University of Houston is an interdisciplinary academic center dedicated to the study of Asians and Asian-Americans in the United States and abroad. The AASC mission is to generate knowledge, increase awareness and foster appreciation of the Asian and Asian-American experience, as well as to provide faculty, students and community members with rich opportunities to learn about Asian and Asian-American cultures. In accomplishing its mission, AASC provides students and faculty with opportunities to interact with members of the Asian and Asian-American communities, especially in the Houston area; promotes collaborative efforts between UH and other institutions worldwide in order to improve the quality of teaching, research, and community service; offers relevant courses for students on selected Asian and Asian-American topics; and implements numerous specialized programs, including a visiting scholars program, student and faculty exchange programs, and an Asian business executive training program, which provides participants with a deeper understanding of the cultural, political, economic, and transnational issues affecting businesses in the world market. Exceptional item funds would be used to support the operations and capital needs of the AASC so that it can better fulfill its mission.
Factors Impacting Strategy
Houston is one of the most ethnically diverse and international cities in the nation. Nearly 50 % of the population is minority, and over half of the international firms operating in Texas are located here. Houston also ranks third among U.S. cities in the number of foreign consulates, 73 are located here. In 2000, approximately 287,000 residents in Houston were of Asian descent (6 % of the population). By 2015, projections indicate that approximately 562,000 Houstonians (9 % of the population) will be of Asian descent - an increase of 96 %. Achieving professional success in our society is often more challenging for members of minority and international communities due to cultural, linguistic, and economic barriers. Breaking down these barriers is essential if these groups are to succeed in our society and if Houston - with its multi-cultural population - is to prosper. The Asian-American community in the Houston area (and increasingly in the rest of Texas) has become a powerful cultural and economic force. The Asian-American Studies Center is an important resource through which UH supports the advancement of this community academically, culturally, and economically for the benefit of our entire region and the state.
Center for Energy Materials Transmission Technology
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 1,200,000
Description and Justification
Exceptional item funding is needed to establish the Center for Energy Transmission Materials Technology at the University of Houston. The center will study critical issues related to energy transmission described in the National Electric Delivery Technologies Roadmap. Working with the State of Texas, U.S. Department of Energy, industry and nationals labs, the center will address issues of critical importance to the development of the proposed energy SuperGrid for the nation. The SuperGrid will deliver electricity and hydrogen, the two most environmentally friendly forms of energy. It will use high temperature superconductors (the most efficient pathway for electricity transmission) and liquid hydrogen as a core-coolant.
The center will utilize the talents and strengths of university-based scientists and engineers to close the gap between fundamental research and pre-commercial development programs. The goal is to develop high-performance materials and low-cost manufacturing technologies, both of which are crucial to the deployment of the SuperGrid. The center will serve as the focal point for university-based talent in the key area of materials science and will provide a network of coordinated research activity through collaborations with national laboratories and industry. The center will also provide the education and training needed to maintain an educated workforce in related fields currently experiencing personnel shortages.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The generation, transmission, and storage of energy underpin all modern technologies, but serious electrical transmission problems now exist within the three major grid systems of the United States (Texas, East, West). Energy consumption will continue to grow - especially in urban areas - placing further demands on the existing infrastructure. A critical need now exists to address mid- and long-term R&D topics central to energy transmission (as outlined in the National Electric Delivery Technologies Roadmap). A national objective is to provide the science and engineering base needed to establish the future safe, reliable, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy transmission system for the nation. The Center for Energy Transmission Materials Technology at the University of Houston will form a significant part of this base.
In 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy released Grid 2030 Study: A National Vision for Electricity's Second 100 Years. In the Grid 2030 vision, technologies like superconductivity will make it possible to deliver large amounts of energy over long distances into congested areas unobtrusively, while new conductor materials will enable the grid to carry 2-3 times the power of conventional wires through existing rights of way. The Center for Energy Transmission Materials Technology at the University of Houston will be a key player in developing these new technologies.
Houston Infrastructure Technology & Assistance Center
New Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 500,000
Description and Justification
For many years UH has been involved with regional groups in the development, assessment, and maintenance of regional infrastructure (e.g., roads, mass transit, airports, port facilities, information systems). Over the past decade, the most significant urban infrastructure changes have come in the form of new information systems, especially as they relate to coordinating the emergency response of public agencies (e.g., fire, police, etc.) in the wake of 9/11. Recently, UH created the Houston InfoComm Technology Center to assist in the integration of regional infocom and emergency response groups, which contributes to regional preparedness relative to homeland security. We are also working with the U.S. Department of Justice to establish a multi-state Southwest Center for Public Safety Technology.
As a result of these efforts, there has been a keen interest in the community to integrate regional emergency response activities into a single center. The Houston Infrastructure Technology and Assistance Center will serve this purpose. Exceptional item funding is requested to initiate the center. This investment will be matched by regional support from public and private entities (county, city, port authority, others). This will lay the groundwork for federal support and the ultimate development and sustainability of the center at the $10 million to 20 million-a-year level. At this level, it will become a critical knowledge base support center, serving Houston and the state as the national leader in infrastructure development, technology, sustainability and security.
Factors Impacting Strategy
The greater Houston area is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, with major developments in its population, infrastructure, and economy. From its present standing as the 4th largest city in the country, it is projected to be the 3rd largest within 20 years. Houston's infrastructure development over the past ten years has been explosive, with new developments in roads, mass transit, airports, new public facilities (sports, conventions, others), public works, and port facilities. While most of these infrastructure developments have resulted from economic development and quality of life issues, developments in telecommunications and regional information systems have been significantly advanced in relation to emergency management in the post-9/11 world. Development, assessment and maintenance of critical infrastructure systems, especially in complex, high-growth areas like Houston, require considerable expertise and coordination among city, county and regional entities.
Center for Public Policy
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 525,000
Description and Justification
The Center for Public Policy (CPP) produces and analyzes data and information regarding major public policy issues affecting the Houston area and Texas. The CPP provides a forum for discussion of critical regional problems, forms alliances with other research institutes to pool resources, and provides leadership training through its government internships and seminars.
Major endeavors include providing support to local governments through survey and demographic research; conducting community surveys and disseminating the results and analysis; conducting bi-annual regional economic forecasting symposia; directing the annual Mickey Leland Congressional Internship Program in Washington, D.C., which places UH and Texas Southern University students in congressional offices each spring semester; implementing the Local Government Internship Program that places approximately 70 UH students in city, county, state, and federal offices in the Houston area each year; directing the Lanier Public Policy Conference that addresses regional and national policy issues; administering state and federal grants for policy research; coordinating professional training and education seminars for governmental officials of China; promoting interdisciplinary exchanges between economists and political scientists through the Institute for the Study of Political Economy; and assisting non-UH government internship programs such as the Texas Legislative Internship Program and the Tom DeLay Texas Internship Program with recruitment and academic assignments and projects.
Factors Impacting Strategy
Without special item support, the Center for Public Policy could no longer provide the array of services to the public including community and business leaders and local governments. The CPP would discontinue its policy research, economic symposia, internship programs, conferences, and seminars. It would also make obtaining federal grants and private foundation support less likely.
Houston Partnership for Space Exploration
Existing Item
Requested Biennial Funding: $ 736,814
Description and Justification The Houston Partnership for Space Exploration (HPSE) increases the intellectual and economic benefits of Texas aerospace organizations, particularly NASA/Johnson Space Center, to UH, UH-Clear Lake, Houston, and Texas. HPSE works through the Institute for Space Systems Operations (ISSO) to achieve these primary goals:
- Increase the research and educational capabilities of UH/UHCL faculty, colleges, and institutions across the many disciplines of the aerospace industry
- Continue and expand jointly supported research conducted by the UH/UHCL-Post Doctoral Aerospace Fellows program and particularly the joint UH/UHCL/JSC projects (~ 75 % of funding)
- Provide seed funds to UH/UHCL faculty to enable the development and the submission of competitive proposals for external funding (~ 20 % of funding)
- Expand research activities of UH/UHCL with other universities, companies, and agencies of the statewide Texas Space Grant Consortium to the benefit of all Texans (~ 5 %)
Between 1992 and 2004, HPSE enabled grants and contracts exceeding $12.6 million. The UH/UHCL/JSC Post Doctoral Aerospace Fellowship (PDAF) program with NASA/JSC leverages state funds 20:1 through access to unique JSC resources (professionals, space operations, data, and Earth-based and on-orbit facilities). The PDAF program provides Texas with a unique method of deriving benefits from its largest federal R&D installation, the NASA/Johnson Space Center.
Factors Impacting Strategy
Since the establishment of the NASA/JSC, NASA has expended approximately $90 billion in the Houston area and Texas. In 2003, NASA/JSC obligated $4.2 billion in funds and expended ~$2.4 billion in the Houston area and Texas. The total local economic benefits of these expenditures will exceed ~$5 billion. In 2003, NASA/JSC expended $550 million on research, development, and advanced engineering, related to the International Space Station, the space shuttle, and many other small programs and the implementation of advanced aerospace operations and communications. These advanced R&D expenditures will increase under the new Presidential Vision for the United States space program. The HPSE/ISSO programs enable UH, UHCL, and other Texas universities, agencies, and industries to participate directly in the advanced research, development, and operations activities and make the disciplines key to these programs available to the citizens of Texas.
Renovation of Science Buildings
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 60,000,000
Project Description
In fall 2005, the university's new Science and Engineering Research Building and Classroom Complex (SERCC) will open. As scientists move into their new labs, the buildings vacated will need to be renovated. Along with SERCC, these facilities constitute the core of our science facilities. Future success in our research and instructional endeavors is contingent upon excellence in each of these structures. Principal among the planned renovations is the modernization of UH's undergraduate sciences labs. In addition, the obsolete 1939 Old Science Building and 1965 Fleming Hall will be remodeled into offices and classrooms. The renovations will improve aged utility systems and incorporate modern information technology systems. Laboratory spaces in the 1969 Science & Research I Building will be upgraded and the building itself remodeled to work more efficiently and exhibit logical spatial organization. All three buildings will be brought up to current Life-Safety code compliance.
Texas Medical Center Building
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 80,000,000
Project Description
Recognizing the breadth of health-related programs at the University of Houston (over 200 academic programs, clinical opportunities, and research initiatives) and their importance to associated industries and the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the UH System Board of Regents has charged UH with expanding and enhancing our partnerships and activities in this field. An integral part of this initiative is constructing a new building at our TMC location to accommodate a wider array of UH health-related programs. Currently, our TMC facilities are used only by the College of Pharmacy. Upon completion of the new building, our facilities will serve not only Pharmacy, but clinical operations in Optometry and Psychology, research programs in the natural sciences and engineering, and instructional programs that the UH System will offer as part of a new multi-institution teaching center.
J. Davis Armistead Building, Optometry Addition
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 35,000,000
Project Description
The College of Optometry (the only university affiliated optometry program in Texas) is in need of greater and more technologically advanced space to accommodate its instructional, research, and clinical programs. A multi-story addition to the J. Davis Armistead Building will eliminate space constraints suffered in the present building and offer a state-of-the-art, vision-related technology program. The facility will include an ambulatory surgical center, laboratories, animal care facilities, offices, and seminar space. The project will also include renovations within the existing building.
C.T. Bauer College of Business Building
Tuition Revenue Bond Request
Requested Funding: $ 31,000,000
Project Description
The C.T. Bauer College of Business is one of the fastest growing programs at UH. Over the past five years, total student enrollment has increased 11 % while undergraduate student enrollment has increased 19 %. In order to accommodate this level of growth, as well as a student body and local business community that demand increasing levels of sophistication in its facilities, construction of a new building is needed. The planned facility will feature critically needed large instructional spaces, tiered classrooms, and faculty offices. It will also support the college's efforts to retain accreditation by AACSB during its scheduled site visit in fall 2005.
