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The UTSA Research Centers and Institutes
Multidisciplinary solutions for today’s problems

By Jim Massaro

Big problems require big solutions. The major challenges facing the United States and the world are tremendous in scope and complexity. Questions such as how to ensure clean, renewable energy is available in the future requires an answer that combines research on energy sources, advances in energy distribution, changes in policy and instilling within the public the will and ability to alter years-old habits. Answers that come from expertise combined across multiple fields are referred to as multidisciplinary solutions. At UTSA, we’ve established specific research units to produce these types of multidisciplinary solutions for the critical problems we face today. These are the UTSA Research Center sand Institutes. Each focuses on a specific problem area and brings together the experts from the different disciplines that are required to put a comprehensive solution together. The UTSA Research Centers and Institutes also establish partnerships with other universities, government agencies and commercial firms to ensure that all aspects of a problem are covered

The UTS A Research Centers and Institutes

The Institute for Health Disparities tackles problems such as why different ethnic groups have higher rates of some diseases and how to improve the availability of health care to the millions of underserved people across the globe.

The Center for Research and Policy in Education studies the range of factors underlying poor student performance and develops new approaches and policies that raise the academic achievement of students throughout the educational pipeline

The Center for Cultural Sustainability undertakes research that addresses the need to retain San Antonio’s unique historical significance, culture and character while developing for the future.

The Center for Education and Research in Information and Infrastructure Security conducts high-impact research and education. Advanced laboratories, test beds, and classrooms educate and prepare tomorrow’s cyber security workforce.

The Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute develops citizen leaders ready to transform the energy future of San Antonio and the Nation through discovery, innovation and pragmatic stewardship of our resources.

The Center for Simulation Visualization and Real-Time Prediction (SiViRT) has 18 faculty members and 35 students from both colleges of engineering and science at UTSA as well as faculty from UTHSCSA, UC Denver, and TCU. Three core research teams conduct research in the areas of imaging, uncertainty quantification, and real-time computing with applications ranging from structural reliability, UAV and nanotechnology to computational neuroscience and cancer treatment simulation. The latest addition to the center is the Advanced Visualization Lab equipped with a large-scale Vis Wall, 3D display and haptics-enabled visualization devices.

The Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research addresses community, economic, infrastructure, environmental and housing issues impacting Texas and the border region.

The Bank of America Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute fosters cross-disciplinary collaborations within the university and with partners from the community to translate research results into policy recommendations on such topics as early language development, juvenile justice and pediatric obesity prevention.

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems provides the greater San Antonio and south Texas area industries and public and private agencies with a one-stop, unique source of expertise in flexible and lean technologies and systems that reduce the cost of operations through significant improvements in efficiency.

The Center for Archaeological Research focuses on documenting and exploring the archaeological history of Texas through such activities as climate reconstruction and experimental research on projectile weaponry.

The Center for Water Research applies a multidisciplinary research approach to solve practical water problems and serves as a regional and international resource for water-related environmental issues.

The Institute for Cyber Security conducts basic and applied research, preparedness exercises, training and competitions in partnership with academia, government and industry focused on preparing greater defenses against cyber attacks from all sources.

The Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research conducts and supports demographic and economic science research on significant practice and policy issues including how the effects of population change impact economic and social characteristics in a region

The San Antonio Institute of Cellular and Molecular Primatology focuses on the study of primate stem cells to develop nonhuman test models for use in regenerative medicine research.

The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases focuses on molecular microbiology, immunology, medical mycology, virology, microbial genomics, vaccine development and biodefense. Work done at this center recently resulted in a prototype vaccine for chlamydia, which was licensed to Merck Pharmaceuticals and is undergoing further development.

The UTSA Neurosciences Institute, a multidisciplinary research organization, fosters a collaborative community of scientists committed to studying the biological basis of human experience and behavior, and the origin and treatment of nervous system diseases.

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