News Briefs

UTSA adopts ‘Culture of Quantitative Scholarship’

A committee chaired by biology professor David Senseman was selected to write a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) for the university as part of the reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Commission on Colleges. The proposal, titled “Quantitative Scholarship: From Literacy to Mastery,” was selected from 14 proposals. The Quantitative QEP includes two components: (1) quantitative literacy encompassing basic analytical skills such as data interpretation, and (2) quantitative mastery, which addresses ways to gather data, identify sources of error and conduct other advanced analyses. These critical thinking and problem-solving skills are the same skills used by successful researchers. They also are tested on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

UTSA wins $1.8M to continue chlamydia research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded chlamydia researchers at the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) a $1.8 million grant over the next five years to study the pathogenesis of Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes human genital chlamydia. “The chlamydia infection is the world’s leading bacterial sexually transmitted disease,” said Bernard Arulanandam, professor of microbiology and immunology and the study’s principal investigator. “Because there is no licensed vaccine available to treat chlamydia, and its symptoms often go unnoticed, many patients who contract chlamydia will develop pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility.” It is estimated that at least 2.2 million people in the United States are infected with chlamydia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

UTSA research team closer to tularemia therapy

Researchers at the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Dieseases (STCEID) published a new discovery in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ Early Edition in February. Karl Klose, director of STCEID and professor of microbiology, said his lab collaborated with researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Thomas Jefferson University in a study that discovered that Francisella tularensis makes an essential metabolic molecule, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), using a different process and different enzyme from all other living organisms. “The findings offer us a possible target for the development of therapeutics against tularemia,” Klose said.

UTSA researchers named AAAS fellows by peers

UTSA researchers Ravi Sandhu and Miguel J. Yacaman have been awarded the distinction of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, an elected honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Professor and Lutcher Brown Endowed Chair in Cyber Security, Sandhu serves as the executive director of UTSA’s Institute for Cyber Security and was elected for his contributions to the cyber security field. Yacaman is a UTSA professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and was elected for his contributions to nanotechnology and materials science. This year, 12 members from Texas were awarded the honor of fellow by the AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Sandhu and Yacaman each received an official certificate and a gold rosette pin, and Yacaman attended the 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago on Feb. 14.

Alumnus David A. Gonzales II wins $100K energy prize

Twenty-one-year-old biology alumnus David A. Gonzales II, ’08, was awarded ConocoPhillips’ first Energy Prize in October for his Layered MagWheel, a revolutionary invention with applications in the auto industry. Established to recognize and foster creative solutions to the U.S. energy crisis, the ConocoPhillips competition was punctuated by a $100,000 grand prize. One of 300 proposals submitted for the contest, the Layered MagWheel is designed around three concepts: magnetic acceleration/drive, regenerative braking and solid-state transmission. It incorporates magnets into the wheels of motorized vehicles to assist with acceleration and deceleration. The invention is both simple and flexible. Moreover, the new technology is safe, clean and easy to manufacture, making it appealing to scientists, engineers and consumers.

UTSA receives $1.2M gift from Kleberg Foundation

The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation donated $1.2 million to purchase a second-generation aberration-corrected electron microscope. The microscope will be housed in the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory under the supervision of Miguel J. Yacaman, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The microscope will support research in nanotechnology, materials science, medicine, biology, chemistry and engineering, allowing scientists to view images at a resolution of less than one angstrom (1x10-10 meters or one ten-billionth of a meter). The instrument will take six months to fabricate and is slated for installation in October 2009.

Institute for Cyber Security launches tech incubator

The UTSA Institute for Cyber Security (ICS) launched an Internet security incubator, a program that will develop and assist in commercializing promising technologies that address major cyber security and privacy issues. The Institute for Cyber Security is led by Ravi Sandhu, executive director of UTSA’s Institute for Cyber Security. The ICS incubator is structured to work with both innovators from UTSA and external entrepreneurs who could benefit from the expertise and resources of UTSA researchers. To become a part of the program, participants must agree to significant collaboration with ICS or other UTSA staff. In exchange, the ICS incubator will provide resources including the following:

• access to entrepreneurial researchers with a proven ability to innovate and bring products to market;

• access to seed capital;

• access to experience in the life cycle of startups from “ideas” to “exits” and everything between;

• support with intellectual property protection (patents, software);

• infrastructure (office and administrative) support.

Teva Neuroscience gives stethoscopes to UTSA

Students in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course taught by biology professor Thomas Forsthuber received stethoscopes donated by Teva Neuroscience, a company that develops products and services for patients with neurological disorders, particularly multiple sclerosis. The students were surprised by Forsthuber and Teva professional education research manager Van Bramlett one afternoon during class. This is the second year Teva Neuroscience has given money to purchase stethoscopes for students in the class, which covers clinical medicine and diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

NSF grants UTSA-headed partnership

The San Antonio Mathematics and Science Education Partnership (SAMSEP) received $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to establish a team of education and community leaders who work together to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The partnership is led by three individuals—Aaron Cassill, associate professor of biology and director for STEM Initiatives in UTSA’s College of Sciences; Carmen Fies, assistant professor of interdisciplinary learning and teaching in the College of Education and Human Development; and William Vinal, mathematics and science senior coordinator for the San Antonio Independent School District. After two years of partnership development, the SAMSEP will be eligible to apply for $2.5 million each year for five years to implement its plan to improve STEM education in San Antonio.

UTSA hosts ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair

More than 1,000 middle and high school students from across Texas competed for scholarships in the 2009 ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair from March 27 to 30. This was the fifth year that UTSA’s College of Sciences has managed and hosted the fair, held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio. Winners from the fair are eligible to attend the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, this year in Reno, Nev., and are also invited by the Texas governor’s office to attend a residential summer camp at UTSA. Inaugurated in 2008, the summer camp uses hands-on experiences and field trips to expose students to a variety of science topics and research areas available in the departments of the UTSA College of Sciences.