catalyst

Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement at UTSA

Contents

Some Wondrous Discoveries to Come

Some Wondrous Discoveries to Come

UTSA researchers John McCarrey and Christopher Navara are collaborating with San Antonio’s Texas Biomedical Research Institute and Harvard University to develop an animal model that can be used to probe the workings of pluripotent stem cells and test the safety and effectiveness of new therapies that will emerge.

A Complex Challenge

A Complex Challenge

With green energy now a national priority, UTSA has formed the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute with a dual mission: working on technologies to help the United States develop and integrate its vast sustainable energy sources, and developing educational programs that will attract students and prepare them for jobs of the future.

Beyond Better Cosmetics and Tennis Rackets

Beyond Better Cosmetics and Tennis Rackets

UTSA physics professor Miguel Yacaman oversees several collaborative nanotechnology research projects to develop new techniques and materials that can be used for many applications, such as using physics technology to develop materials for health.

Focus on Unmanned Underwater Vessels

Focus on Unmanned Underwater Vessels

UTSA researchers Brent Nowak and David Akopian developed a collection of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) they call the Wolf Pack. These AUVs are able to navigate and communicate together under water.

The Religion of Couples, Relationship Quality, and Health

The Religion of Couples, Relationship Quality, and Health

You’ve seen it written on bumper stickers and church marquees: “The family that prays together stays together.” A study done by UTSA sociology professor Christopher Ellison shows that those families who regularly devote time to prayer and other religious activities indeed share a stronger family bond.

Molecules Are the Message

Molecules are the Message

What do those white, crusty patches on pumpkins and a rare African tree have in common? Both possess tiny amounts of natural products that UTSA researchers Oleg Larionov and Zachary Tonzetich believe could be the key to new anticancer drugs.

Letters

Dean Perry

Welcome to the fourth edition of UTSA Discovery. Researchers at UTSA continue to seek new insight into and solutions for complex questions and problems in Energy, Health, Security, Sustainability, and Human and Social Development. Many of the research programs address two or more of these areas, and most require multidisciplinary collaborations such as those of our research centers and institutes profiled in the News section. In this volume, we present six feature articles on research teams that are contributing to improving the quality of our lives now and in the future.

Our cover story (“A Complex Challenge”) focuses on renewable energy and the development of new methods for harnessing and distributing energy from multiple sources through smart power grids.

Stem cell research with pluripotent cells induced from adult cells offers great promise in regenerative medicine and is featured in “Some Wondrous Discoveries to Come.”

Nanotechnology research is profiled in “Beyond Better Cosmetics and Tennis Rackets,” which describes new technologies and materials for applications in health, energy and consumer products.

The Naval Engineering Education Center program (“Focus on Unmanned Underwater Vessels”) trains students and addresses energy, sustainability and security issues.

Development of new drugs and better methods for synthesizing pharmaceuticals offers new prospects for fighting cancer and other diseases as described in “Molecules Are the Message.”

“The Religion of Couples, Relationship Quality and Health” examines the effects of religion on health and issues of race, ethnicity and relationship satisfaction.

In addition to the above feature articles, the Abstracts give you an overview of the breadth of programs from basic to applied and translational research. The Commercialization Corner describes our progress in moving inventions and discoveries from the laboratory through the New Venture Incubator to the marketplace. Our research expenditures at UTSA continue to expand at double-digit rates as we move toward becoming a Tier One Research University. We hope that you will enjoy this volume of UTSA Discovery. For additional information, please visit the UTSA Research Website at http://vpr.utsa.edu.

Robert Gracy,
Vice President for Research

Ricardo Romo,
President