In an unassuming North Austin neighborhood, major scientific breakthroughs are in the making.
The J.J. Pickle Research Campus is home to 29 different research centers, each working on projects contracted by various governmental and private agencies. The PRC property, formerly known as the Balcones Research Center, was purchased by the University in 1949 and renamed in 1994 for U.S. Rep. Jake Pickle.
Faculty members who want to conduct research at the PRC or at the main campus must submit a proposal to a funding agency, outlining research goals and a budget. The agency then reviews and ranks proposals and picks the ones at the top of the list, said Executive Vice Provost Steven Monti.
Ben Streetman, dean of the College of Engineering dean, said most of the research projects are contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation and the National Science Foundation. The College of Engineering has more than $100 million in contracted research per year, Streetman said.
"There's not really that much that's funded by the college or University, we just give the faculty a space to work," he said.
Most of the money spent on research goes toward paying graduate students who work on the research projects with faculty members, buying equipment and paying faculty's summer salaries, since many faculty members conduct research in the summer, Streetman added.
Randy Charbeneau, College of Engineering associate dean, said the University spends more than $400 million in contracted research annually. The money actually comes from other sources, such as TxDOT, but is counted as a University expenditure.
Charbeneau said 5 percent to 10 percent of research is non-contract - money given by an agency to a faculty member to conduct research - with no restrictions or guidelines on how the money should be spent.
Charbeneau has been awarded such gifts from ExxonMobil, receiving approximately $40,000 in the last few years.
David Maidment, director for the Center for Research in Water Resources at the PRC, is currently mapping the flow of groundwater and is researching how to deal with water supply.
"We have four problems: too much water, not enough water, dirty water and maintaining ecosystems in the water," Maidment said.
Maidment is also researching environmental water supply issues in the lower Colorado River, where San Antonio is trying to pump water out of the river at high flow as a water supply source for the city.
"It's an environmental versus a developmental trade off," he said. Maidment has a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Charbeneau said the research environment is friendly among colleagues, but it is a competitive process to land contracts, especially for younger faculty members.
"It's hard for a new faculty member, just out of school, trying to make a name for themselves," he said. "Getting that first contract is always difficult."
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