NATIONAL RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND (NRSF)
Continued support for the NRSF guarantees Texas institutions the ability to employ expert faculty, fuel cuttingedge research and train the skilled workforce needed to solve pressing issues in Texas and advance the nation.
UTSA’s NRSF Allocation
$18,039,717 per year; $36,079,434 per biennium
Overview
In 2023, the Texas State Legislature restructured funding for research being conducted by universities. Part of the changes include renaming the Core Research Support Fund (CRSF) to the National Research Support Fund (NRSF), which provides a direct incentive and tangible investment in our state’s public emerging research universities. The NRSF will provide financial support to enable Tier One public institutions like UTSA to make deliberate, long-term commitments to advancing research activity that results in positive economic impact for the state.
The Challenge
Located in Texas’ second most populated city, UTSA is San Antonio’s only Tier One institution with the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification for research. To elevate UTSA’s research enterprise toward national relevance, and strengthen Texas leadership in AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, brain health and space science, consistent and reliable funding is crucial. Key to this goal will be making the NRSF a permanent fund, thereby providing as a vehicle for strategic long-term commitments to advance world-class research.
The Impact
Ongoing, permanent funding from the NRSF will allow UTSA to:
Recruit Nationally Recognized Research Leadership
Recruit key leadership and national academy members to UTSA that capitalize on UTSA’s strengths by further building our areas of scholarly excellence where UTSA holds national recognition and a notable volume of research expertise.
Enhance Research Development Programming
Offer faculty access to seed grants, targeted proposal review/feedback, and partnerships to increase the success of securing external funding. Research projects funded by seed grants awarded in 2022 resulted in substantial extramural funding by 2023 — 35 research projects were collectively awarded $425,000, $108,000 of which was funded through CORE. This resulted in extramural funding of $2,383,866, representing an ROI of 700.95%.
7K Skilled professionals graduate from UTSA every year
90%
Stay and join the Texas workforce
For More Information
Heather Shipley, Ph.D.
UTSA Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
o: 210.458.5191 heather.shipley@utsa.edu
Jason Hassay
UTSA Government Relations
o: 210.458.5102
m: 512.413.9598 jason.hassay@utsa.edu
Updated September 11, 2024
NATIONAL RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND (NRSF)
The Impact (continued)
Foster Inter-institutional Innovation
Facilitate faculty to partner with researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to advance critical science and technology with significant potential to enhance quality of life and transform the economy. Previous projects in this program have tackled critical issues including the antibiotic resistance crisis, deep sea drilling risk mitigation, heat absorption in urban areas and barriers to hydrogen fuel development.
Support Strategic Research Groups
Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration through Research Interest Groups (RIGS) in areas, including: Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE), Space Travel, Exploration, and Planetary Science (STEPS). RIGs support over 200 faculty members to advance cutting-edge research, development and commercialization shaping the innovation landscape, from Texas to outer space.
Build Safe and Secure Research Facilities
Ensure faculty and students have the facilities and technical expertise needed to conduct biological, chemical, radiological and animal research that complies with accreditation standards.
Train the Next Generation of Experts and Innovators
Create a talent pipeline in emerging technologies and fields such as AI, space science, cybersecure manufacturing and biomedicine. UTSA has nearly 5,000 students in advanced degree programs gaining the specialization and expertise needed for Texas to lead these burgeoning industries in our increasingly competitive global market.
The Solution
Continued support of NRSF is essential for UTSA to serve our researchers on campus and engage external stakeholders in solving global grand challenges. We urge the State of Texas Legislature to continue to provide NRSF to universities such as UTSA. This support is critical to producing groundbreaking fundamental research, translating knowledge into practice, and contributing to the economic growth of our city, region and state.
Spotlight
Collaboration Advances Hydrogen Fuels
Researchers from UTSA and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) collaborated to improve storage materials for hydrogen fuels using a novel, hybrid metal-carbon microstructure. Hydrogen fuel’s emissions are free of carbon byproducts, making it a promising alternative to fossil fuels with potential applications in automobiles, power generation and even as a replacement for natural gas in homes.
Project leads Josh Mangum (SwRI), UTSA Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kathryn Mayer and UTSA Assistant Professor of Chemistry Fang Xu conducted the research through the Connecting through Research Partnerships (Connect) Program, which pairs researchers from the two institutions on cutting-edge R&D ventures each year.
UTSA and Southwest Research Institute work to create high surface area carbon microstructure particles that can chemically absorb hydrogen, storing it for safe and costeffective transport.
