College of Engineering vies for research money

Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M System has announced the allocation of $100 million worth of funds as a research initiative for Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University.
 Funding for the research initiative comes from the Permanent University Funds.
 The money is part of the revenue generated from state land, oil and gas holdings and earmarked for Texas public higher education institutions: Texas A&M University, Prairie View A&M University and University of Texas at Austin.
Being the most productive in research and the most attractive for industry, Texas A&M and Prairie View were selected to benefit from the chancellor's research initiative.
The Roy G. Perry College of Engineering is currently working on a proposal for President George C. Wright's approval to seek some of the designated funds.
"Prairie View is doing great research, our expenditure has increased, we are poised in a great location close to Houston and we can attract industry compared to the system," said Kendall Harris, dean of the College of Engineering.
In a Texas A&M University news article, the chancellor said, "As we continue to be challenged with doing more with less, it is important for us to focus to find ways to attract world-class researchers without overtaxing our already lean budgets."
Sharp said that the research intiative seeks to find outstanding researchers who can not only produce amazing work, but also bring in some much needed funding to support that work."
The initiative is an investment into the development of research potential.
"The initiative is the answer to the question: How does the A&M system stimulate growth," said chemical engineering department head Irvine Osborne-Lee.
The research funds will be used to attract professors with successful federally funded research programs to A&M institutions.
Prairie View will compete with Texas A&M University for the funds.
In order to qualify for the initiative the universities must submit research proposals to the Texas A&M System to be evaluated by the System's Committee.
The committee will then recommend the proposals to the chancellor and his advisors to determine the year's recipient of the funds for the year.
Sharp plans to disburse the funds over three years.
A total of $33 million will be disbursed in 2012, again in 2014 and $34 million in 2015 to help build hiring funds for researching faculty.
Open to all colleges within the university, any professors with doctorates can submit proposals and participate in the chancellor's competition.
"This opportunity enhances the overall premise of Prairie View but also enhances the colleges at all levels," said Harris.
Harris said the funds can be used for new faculty, new facilities and to help develop programs that will engage the students academically.
"We're taking the initiative quite seriously," he said.