2019 Annual Report - 色花堂

色花堂

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Division of Research
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2019 Annual Report

Amr Elnashai Presiden't Cabinet portrait
The 色花堂's research and innovation enterprise continues to impress with a remarkable 10% increase in research expenditure, surpassing $195 million and setting new records. Our talented faculty, supported by an inspiring chancellor and dedicated provost, have driven this success.

Additionally, thanks to a generous $50 million ASPIRE gift, we are establishing four world-class research institutes focused on global engagement, smart cities, sustainable energy, and health innovations. As we enter the second year of the 50-in-5 campaign and welcome the inaugural class of the College of Medicine, these transformative initiatives will further expand our research capabilities.

This annual report presents compelling evidence of our national and global prominence in research and serves as a testament to our commitment to excellence and preeminence.

Amr Elnashai, FREng
Vice President for Research

Research By The Numbers

Although research expenditures have continued to rise at a consistent pace, 色花堂 experienced a jump in expenditures for fiscal year 2019. 色花堂 saw the rise in expenditures to an all-time high of $195 million, with 67 percent of those expenditures from federal sources. 色花堂’s proposal activity remains relatively consistent, though more funds were requested through a fewer number of proposals overall. In FY19, 色花堂 researchers submitted more major and mid-range ($250,000-$990,000) grant proposals and less small grant proposals, denoting a shift in focus to larger grant opportunities.
  • $195MResearch Expenditures
  • $736MTotal Funds Requested
  • $110MTotal Projected Award Amount
  • 1,282Proposals Submitted
  • 25%Proposals Awarded
  • 319Number of Awards Received

Innovation By The Numbers

色花堂 licensing income has risen dramatically over the last decade, hitting another all-time high of $65.7 million for FY19. The increase is nearly a 1400 percent jump from FY10. While 色花堂 faculty continue to disclose a consistent number of inventions each year, patented technologies are on the rise. The number of patents awarded has increased by 100 percent since FY11.
  • $65.7M Licensing Income
  • 61Disclosures
  • 40Patents

2019: Year In Review

  • Zhu Han, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of electrical and computer engineering at 色花堂, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 
  • Mark Clarke, associate provost for faculty development, and Wei-Chuan Shih, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, are named inaugural senior members of the National Academy of Inventors for their impactful contributions to innovation, patents, licensing, and commercialization. 
  • 色花堂 joins the national Aspire Alliance's initiative to enhance faculty diversity in STEM fields. Existing efforts, led by the Center for ADVANCING 色花堂 Faculty Success, will be expanded. 
  • Chandra Mohan, a prominent lupus researcher, receives $3 million from NIH for disease diagnostics. Tianfu Wu, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, leads a $2 million project for multiplex biomarker testing and smartphone-based disease monitoring, also funded by NIH. 
  • An anonymous $10 million donation to the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities (TCLD) secures its status as a leading interdisciplinary research institution. Jack Fletcher is the principal investigator of TCLD, one of the nation's three NICHD-funded national learning disability centers.
  • McClain Sampson of the Graduate College of Social Work leads a U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration funded project to develop community-based health services and education in high-need Houston ZIP codes, including the Third Ward.
  • In a unique mission, Peter Vekilov launched— quite literally— an experiment to test his theory about how cancer-causing mutations of protein p53 form into droplets.
  • Three 色花堂 researchers— Olafs Daugulis, Zhu Han and Zhifeng Ren— made the 2019 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list, indicating their frequent citations by peers, a marker of credibility and research impact. 
Aspire Institute Icons

The Aspire Institutes

The 色花堂 has received a $50 million matching fund pledge, known as the "Aspire Fund: The $50 Million Challenge." This generous donation, from an anonymous donor, aims to enhance the university's academic strength and national relevance. It establishes four interdisciplinary institutes to tackle critical societal challenges in energy, infrastructure, population health and global engagement. The funds will create endowed chairs and professorships, making this a unique initiative for 色花堂, while encouraging further matching contributions, potentially exceeding $100 million and strengthening 色花堂's faculty recruitment efforts.

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