Welcome to the fourth issue of the UTEP Research Newsletter. You will find highlights of new research awards; research stories recently published by University Communications; upcoming events; new Expertise Connector personal profiles and list of enhancements to the system; updates on research administration; as well as patents received by UTEP researchers in the last four months. Also included in this issue is an article on this semester’s Research Forum. Enjoy the read and best wishes to you this holiday season!
On September 20th, faculty, staff, and students from across the University gathered in the Undergraduate Learning Center for the Fall 2018 Research Forum. Hosted by Vice President for Research Roberto Osegueda, the event provided an opportunity to recognize the achievements of UTEP researchers and featured a record-breaking number of sponsored projects at the University.
The event opened with appreciative remarks from UTEP President Diana Natalicio for the excellent efforts of faculty and staff, underscoring their critical roles in shaping the future of public higher education. The President noted that UTEP is poised to become the national model for public institutions of higher education, proving that a laser focus on educational access as well as a commitment to excellence in research can co-exist.
Though only representing a portion of the research activity occurring at UTEP, the Fall 2018 Research Forum highlighted 90 new extramurally-funded grants obtained by UTEP faculty and staff between April and August of this year, setting a new Research Forum record for the number of sponsored projects recognized. The projects showcased the tremendous range of scholarly inquiry and programmatic interests of UTEP faculty and staff. The list of sponsored projects ranged in scope and subject area—from an investment by one of the nation’s leading media companies to support UTEP Journalism’s critical role in the development of the next generation of journalists, to a nearly $10 million award from the National Science Foundation that places UTEP at the forefront of a national alliance focused on increasing the number of Hispanic students who obtain credentials in computing.
Yet another Research Forum record was set that night—Dr. Thenral Mangadu, associate professor of public health sciences, was lauded for having been awarded four grants during the recognition period. Dr. Mangadu secured three competitive grants from the Department of Health and Human Services’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and one from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women totaling $5.1 million. The awarded projects range in focus from mental health awareness training; reducing HIV incidence; combating sexual violence on college campuses; and substance abuse prevention, treatment, and support services for pregnant and post-partum women. Dr. Mangadu’s assemblage of grants gives emphasis to the diversity of research interests, talents of our UTEP community members, and far-reaching impact of UTEP research and sponsored projects.
A keynote speech from Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri concluded the afternoon’s program. Dr. Choudhuri, Associate VP for Strategic Initiatives, and Director of the UTEP NASA MIRO Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR), shared his research interests and findings with the gathered community members. In addition to sharing his successes in the teaching and research areas of combustion, propulsion, and high temperature materials synthesis, he showcased UTEP’s growing national preeminence in aerospace, additive manufacturing, and energy engineering research while expanding economic development for the region.
Not only has UTEP brought a convening of space industry experts to campus, but UTEP is also at the forefront of a national low-altitude airspace initiative. Choudhuri shared details of how unmanned aerial systems (UAS) experts from cSETR are leading a team comprised of leaders from El Paso County, the City of El Paso, El Paso International Airport and many other local government entities to install the country’s first countywide-area operational low-altitude UAS Traffic Management system. Choudhuri also shared recent activity at cSETR’s Technology Research and Innovation Acceleration Park (tRIAc) in Fabens, where research is focused on large-scale combustion testing; energy research in liquid methane heat transfer; and firing tests.
The initiatives highlighted in the keynote speech certainly reflect well on the work of cSETR and affiliates, but they are also representative of the efforts taking place around the University. Across the board, UTEP research and sponsored projects are making new discoveries and meeting vital needs; bringing academic talents from UTEP together with industry leaders; increasing regional economic prosperity; and most importantly, making giant leaps forward in the research and career-building opportunities available to UTEP students.
GO MINERS!
To view photographs from the Fall 2018 Research Forum, please follow this link and enter your UTEP credentials.
We are pleased to announce all sponsored projects officially received by ORSP between the period of August 1 and November 30, 2018. Please click on the “Read Full Announcement” link to learn more about each award below.
In addition to those grants received by Dr. Mangadu, the largest projects in terms of dollar amount awarded during the last four months are as follows:
NSF INCLUDES ALLIANCE: COMPUTING ALLIANCE OF HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (CAHSI) – CAHSI was selected to be the lead partner and backbone of one of only five National Science Foundation (NSF) INCLUDES Alliances. With $9.9 million from NSF and support from UTEP, Dr. Ann Gates and CAHSI will lead an alliance comprised of over 60 organizations across the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico who are committed to growing and sustaining a networked community to recruit, retain, and accelerate the progress of Hispanics in computing. Click here to view more information on this award.
NEW CHEMOTHERAPY REGIMENS AND BIOMARKERS FOR CHAGAS DISEASE – Supported by a $6.1 million award from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Igor Almeida will spearhead UTEP’s first clinical trial as lead institution. With assistance from Dr. Katja Michael, and other researchers in the U.S., Bolivia, and Spain, this clinical trial will develop diagnostic tools and test drug treatments for Chagas disease. Click here to view more information on this award.
UTEP GEAR UP PROJECT - UTEP’s GEAR UP program was notified shortly after the Fall 2018 Research Forum that it had secured a $13 million award, the largest research award to a UTEP individual or team this calendar year. Led by Juliette Caire, with assistance from Dr. Peter Golding, the six-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education will assist more than 2,700 students in 10 Ysleta Independent School District middle schools in preparing for, and attending college. Click here to view more information on this award.
For more detail on each of the aforementioned grants, please follow the links to their full announcements below.
Nov 01, 2018 through Oct 31, 2020, $745,414
Read Full Announcement
Apr 01, 2018 through Mar 31, 2020, $203,850
Read Full Announcement
Oct 18, 2018 through May 31, 2020, $241,153
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019, $199,624
Read Full Announcement
Sep 30, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019, $150,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2024, $13,051,200
Read Full Announcement
Jan 01, 2019 through Dec 31, 2022, $699,911
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2021, $900,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2022, $999,976
Read Full Announcement
Sep 30, 2018 through Sep 29, 2021, $375,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 31, 2018 through Jul 31, 2021, $165,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 20, 2018 through Sep 28, 2018, $8,892
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2020, $249,500
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2022, $95,000
Read Full Announcement
Jun 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2023, $6,064,237
Read Full Announcement
Jul 01, 2018 through Aug 30, 2019, $10,000
Read Full Announcement
May 01, 2019 through Apr 30, 2024, $1,092,074
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019, $95,400
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2021, $255,790
Read Full Announcement
Jan 01, 2019 through Dec 31, 2021, $599,451
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2023, $393,601
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2024, $3,870,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2023, $255,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2019, $99,971
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2023, $4,000,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2017 through Aug 31, 2022, $138,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2024, $1,486,433
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2019, $11,881
Read Full Announcement
Oct 23, 2018 through Feb 28, 2019, $9,866
Read Full Announcement
Nov 15, 2018 through Oct 31, 2020, $151,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2023, $77,982
Read Full Announcement
Aug 06, 2018 through Feb 05, 2020, $50,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Mar 31, 2019, $6,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 16, 2018 through Nov 20, 2018, $9,800
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2019 through Aug 31, 2021, $55,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 29, 2018 through Oct 28, 2019, $5,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 26, 2018 through Jan 26, 2021, $130,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 05, 2018 through Apr 30, 2019, $19,998
Read Full Announcement
Sep 24, 2018 through Feb 07, 2019, $16,586
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Apr 30, 2021, $116,725
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Jun 30, 2019, $9,986
Read Full Announcement
Sep 11, 2018 through Mar 10, 2019, $37,750
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2019, $57,208
Read Full Announcement
Sep 04, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019, $120,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 15, 2018 through Sep 14, 2021, $300,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 31, 2018 through Aug 30, 2019, $130,000
Read Full Announcement
Dec 15, 2017 through Jun 15, 2018, $38,678
Read Full Announcement
Sep 30, 2018 through Sep 29, 2023, $2,534,134
Read Full Announcement
Sep 05, 2018 through Sep 05, 2019, $20,000
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2019, $15,866
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2019, $60,880
Read Full Announcement
Apr 01, 2018 through Mar 31, 2023, $222,102
Read Full Announcement
Sep 30, 2018 through Sep 29, 2022, $1,940,000
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Sep 30, 2021, $299,999
Read Full Announcement
Mar 13, 2018 through Feb 28, 2023, $81,425
Read Full Announcement
Aug 20, 2018 through Aug 19, 2021, $225,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through May 31, 2021, $112,150
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Feb 29, 2020, $10,200
Read Full Announcement
Aug 13, 2018 through Aug 31, 2020, $5,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 13, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019, $13,181
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2019, $24,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through Jul 31, 2020, $325,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 02, 2018 through Sep 30, 2021, $60,000
Read Full Announcement
Aug 18, 2018 through Sep 30, 2021, $61,446
Read Full Announcement
Aug 01, 2018 through Oct 31, 2018, $24,500
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2023, $9,900,001
Read Full Announcement
Sep 01, 2018 through Aug 31, 2021, $355,325
Read Full Announcement
Oct 01, 2018 through Dec 31, 2019, $152,326
Read Full Announcement
Aug 15, 2018 through Jun 15, 2019, $74,880
Read Full Announcement
UTEP is striving to increase its number of US patents issued each year. Two patents were issued in fiscal year 2015, six in 2016, five in 2017 and fourteen in 2018. We begin the FY 2019 with two patents issues since September 1. This impressive and consistent increase represents UTEP’s commitment to research, discovery and creativity, and innovation and invention.
Below you will find the collection of research-related articles written by University Communications since April. ORSP is very appreciative of our partnership with University Communications, working to promote the accomplishments of our faculty and staff. These research-related articles are also reflected in the Expertise Connector, linked to the individuals and campus units featured in the written pieces.
Christina Sobin, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences in UTEP’s College of Health Sciences, has been awarded a $699,911 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prevent and respond to elevated blood lead levels in children by educating their caregivers on identifying and mitigating lead hazards in their homes.
The University of Texas at El Paso's role in shaping the future of energy and biomaterials research was highlighted this week as the campus marked the establishment of its new Partnerships of Research and Education Materials (PREM) Center for Advanced Materials Research. Representatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and partner institutions were present as UTEP ceremoniously established its new PREM center Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, at UTEP’s College of Engineering. Among them was Debasis Majumdar, Ph.D., program director for NSF’s PREM program.
Michael McGee, Ph.D., is comfortable with the pursuit of lofty goals. The senior research associate with The University of Texas at El Paso's NASA MIRO Center for Space Exploration and Technology Research (cSETR) put that notion on display throughout a 20-year career with the U.S. Air Force and subsequent success in private industry as a senior policy researcher.
Whether it is due to chipped paint on 40-year-old windowsills or lead-glazed ceramic cookware, millions of children in the United States each year are at risk for lead exposure, usually in their own homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 500,000 children ages 1-5 have blood-lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter, the level at which the CDC recommends public health actions be initiated. Previous studies suggest these levels can lead to behavior and learning problems, hyperactivity and anemia.
A UTEP professor has been elected to the highest leadership position of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific organization. Luis Echegoyen, Ph.D., a research professor and the Robert A. Welch Chair in The University of Texas at El Paso’s chemistry department, will begin a three-year term during which he will be responsible for the development of a set of goals with corresponding tasks and events while serving as the society’s primary representative.
The University of Texas at El Paso will be a pivotal leader in the collection of critical performance data for the 3D-printing industry while offering immense benefits to students through an expanded agreement with America Makes. The announcement was made Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, at a joint press conference with America Makes held at the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation at UTEP.
UTEP President Diana Natalicio has been named the recipient of one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), a national organization representing Hispanic professionals and students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Rubén Hinojosa STEM Champion Award will be presented Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, during SHPE’s 42nd national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, where more than 6,000 students, professionals, academic and industry leaders, are expected to gather for five days of professional and leadership development.
A mechanical engineering professor from The University of Texas at El Paso will help enhance the sustainability of structures moving at hypersonic speeds through a $130,000 grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). alvin M. Stewart, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering in UTEP’s College of Engineering, is the principal investigator of the award from the AFRL. The grant will be used to conduct experimental and computational research on materials for hypersonic cruise vehicles (HVCs).
Change is apparent throughout The University of Texas at El Paso campus. New buildings and updated roads are in the works with plans for more. There are also new facilities, new deans and new coaches. But one particularly profound change has quietly been taking place in classrooms, labs and offices across the University for several years now. “It’s a new way of thinking; it’s looking at the University differently,” said Ann Gates, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science, referring to the growth of interdisciplinary research and education (IDRE) at UTEP.
The University of Texas at El Paso’s Alyse C. Hachey, Ph.D., associate professor of early childhood education, co-authored a research paper that for the first time uses data to show that students with preschool-aged children, despite having higher GPAs on average, are at risk because they have significantly lower quantity and quality of time for college than their peers with older or no children.
Talking publicly about reproductive health, HIV and substance abuse can intimidate most people, but not Victor Cornejo, especially if what he has to say can save a life. Cornejo, a junior computer science major at The University of Texas at El Paso, is a peer educator with UTEP’s Hasta La Vista, a community-based intervention program with Aliviane, Inc.
The Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (JSCAN) recently appointed UTEP’s Eric J. Boyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of public administration, to a three-year term on its editorial board. His term begins in October 2018. The journal, the official publication of the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM), serves as an outlet for research and theory about the practices that challenge the status quo in strategic contracting and negotiations, and the commercial implementation of business strategy or policy.
Raymond C. Rumpf, Ph.D., and his EM Lab team are motivated by extreme challenges that others may consider to be impossible. The Schellenger Professor in Electrical Research in The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Engineering leads the EM Lab, a space dedicated to pioneering high-risk, high-payoff concepts in electromagnetics and photonic technologies that are enabled by 3-D printing.
UTEP Associate Professor Giorgio Gotti, Ph.D., chair of the accounting and information systems department, received the Best Research Award at the 23rd Ethics Research Symposium at the 2018 American Accounting Association (AAA) Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. His winning article was titled “Living Up to Your Codes? Corporate Codes of Ethics and the Implied Cost of Capital.”
A professor from The University of Texas at El Paso has been chosen as the recipient of the Alpha Sigma Mu Fellow honor from an international scholastic society. Devesh Misra, Ph.D., the Freeport McMoRan Distinguished Chair in Metallurgical Engineering and Professor of the Department of Metallurgical, Materials andBiomedical Engineering in UTEP’s College of Engineering, has been named the recipient of the Alpha Sigma Mu Fellow Award.
The University of Texas at El Paso, with a consortium of more than 40 other institutions and organizations from the public and private sector, is at the forefront of a national effort to increase the number of Hispanic students who participate in computing. The work will be led by Ann Gates, Ph.D., professor and chair of UTEP’s Department of Computer Science, who recently was named a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant worth $9,900,000.
A pair of engineering professors from The University of Texas at El Paso will address the need to develop faculty who are adept at effective teaching strategies in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Benjamin Flores, Ph.D., professor and director of The University of Texas System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, was named the principal investigator of the NSF award worth $393,601 with co-PI Heidi Taboada-Jimenez, Ph.D., associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Engineering.
El Paso County law enforcement officials are more likely to ask first-generation Mexican immigrants and their U.S-born children about their citizenship status, according to research conducted by two faculty members and a graduate student from The University of Texas at El Paso. The research paper, “Variations in Citizenship Profiling by Generational Status: Individuals and Neighborhood Characteristics of Latina/os Questioned by Law Enforcement about Their Legal Status,” was published earlier this summer in “Race and Social Problems,” a highly respected interdisciplinary academic journal.
The American School Counselor Association recently awarded a $10,000 grant to The University of Texas at El Paso’s Carleton H. Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor and school counselor clinical coordinator in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Services. Brown said the project’s primary research goal is to provide insights into the optimal student-to-school counselor ratio by exploring the relationship between existing student-school counselor staffing ratios and important student outcomes.
Scientists at The University of Texas at El Paso have received nearly $6 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve treatment and develop new diagnostic tools to assess post-therapeutic outcomes for patients with Chagas disease. Igor Almeida, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences, is the principal investigator (PI) of the award — a five-year grant worth $5,713,730 — from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The work of a University of Texas at El Paso professor has been published in one of the world’s leading monthly peer-reviewed scientific journals. Two articles focusing on nanotechnology’s impact on drinking water and agriculture co-written by Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Ph.D., the Dudley Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science and Engineering, were published in the August 2018 edition of Nature Nanotechnology.
Two University of Texas at El Paso professors will continue their groundbreaking work with endohedral fullerene structures through a new $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Luis Echegoyen, Ph.D., a research professor and the Robert A. Welch Chair in UTEP’s chemistry department, is the principal investigator of the award from the NSF’s Chemistry Division Research Center.
While it is undoubtedly the most prominent celestial body, the star at the center of our solar system also remains one of the most mysterious objects in the firmament. But a major effort to change that will soon get underway, when an unprecedented expedition to the sun blasts off, thanks in part to the work of a researcher from The University of Texas at El Paso.
The University of Texas at El Paso will serve as the North American base of operations for Aconity3D, one of the world’s emerging technology leaders in the production of 3D printing equipment, under a new agreement announced by the two organizations this summer. Aconity3D, which is based in Herzogenrath, Germany, develops laser-based 3D printing machines for fabrication of complex metal parts for use in airplanes, automobiles, medical implants and more.
Looking after your health is like doing routine maintenance on your car. If you do not change the oil in your vehicle or you skip doctor’s appointments, your car and your body will begin to break down. That is the point that Jeannie Belinda Concha, Ph.D., a public health educator, made when she asked men such as her brothers why they checked the oil in their cars every three months, but would not to go to the doctor for a routine physical exam.
The University of Texas at El Paso will establish a new federally funded center focused on energy and biomaterials after being named a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) award totaling nearly $4 million. The NSF announced Aug. 7, 2018, that UTEP was awarded a new Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) grant aimed at fostering next-generation materials research by a team of faculty with engineering and science students from diverse backgrounds, through collaborations with an existing NSF-funded center at another institution.
For a complete list of research news, please visit the Expertise Connector Research Stories page.
The Expertise Connector (EC) Working Group meets weekly to discuss system functionality and grow compatibility. Below are brief summaries of the most recent enhancements to expertise.utep.edu:
Dr. Eppie Rael is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree at The University of Albuquerque, his Master’s Degree from New Mexico Highlands University, and his Doctor of Philosophy Degree from the University of Arizona. He came to UTEP in 1975 as an Assistant Professor, where he progressed to the rank of Associate Professor and then to Professor. At UTEP he served as Director of the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Program from 1982 through 1990, served as Director of the MBRS – SCORE Program from 1998 to 2005, and served as Director of the Border Biomedical Research Center from 1999 to 2005. He was the Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences from 1999 to 2005. He received numerous research grants while at UTEP from the NIH and NSF, and from other granting institutions. He is one of the Founding Fathers of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Fifteen of his master’s students went on to receive the Ph.D. degree from various universities in the U.S.; twenty of his master’s students received M.D. degrees; and thirty-five additional students completed the requirements for the M.S. degree at UTEP. He authored or co-authored sixty-two journal articles with topics ranging from drug-drug interaction, immune cell function, venom distribution in rattlesnake populations, development of immunotoxins, and molecular models of metalloproteinases and their potential drug use.
Research Forums provide an opportunity to recognize the recent achievement of researchers on campus as well as feature a distinguished UTEP researcher discussing his/her research experiences and findings with the university community. The Vice President for Research invites you to join the faculty, students, alumni, and staff in discussing important and timely research topics to stimulate further investigation in advancing our collective knowledge.
Please click here to RSVP.
Post Award Activity Updates
IAP updates
UTEP uses the IAP form (Interim Approval Process) in order to collect approvals for Human Resource and Financial transactions. The IAPs include the appointments actions request forms and position funding change requests. Effective November 1, 2018, there has been a change in routing of IAP forms for grants. The Contracts and Grants Support Center (CGSC) will now be reviewing and approving all grant-related IAPs once they are approved by the PI. The appointment will then be processed by the Employment Data Management team in the Budget Office.
For any questions regarding the status of an IAP, please contact the Grants Support Center at CGSC@utep.edu. You can also find information on what positions you budgeted for by looking at your Notice of Award (NOA) document or contacting your RA.
Budget Transfer Updates
The Budget Transfer IAP form routing also changed on November 1, 2018. Once the PI approves the transfer, the document will route to Contracts and Grants Accounting (CGA) for their review and approval. You will find information on allowable budget transfers in your NOA, so reviewing this before a budget transfer will help you avoid the rejection of any transfers. To find out the status of your budget transfer, please contact the Accountant that is listed on your NOA and in PIC. For questions on allowability of transfers, please contact your Research Administrator.
PIC Verification/Certification
PIC Reconciliation/Verification/Certification Process
The purpose of reconciliation is to make certain employees are paid from correct accounts/amounts and to detect errors in a timely manner.
It is the expectation that a Project Administrator (PA) perform monthly reconciliation and verification of all expenses including salaries and wages. When the month has closed in PeopleSoft, the PA will have two weeks to verify expenses in PIC. After the PA has verified expenses for the month, the Principal Investigator (PI) is then responsible to certify expenses in PIC. A notification will be sent by ORSP to remind both the PA/PI to verify/certify expenses.
For any questions regarding the verification/certification process please contact Belinda Gonzalez or Daniel Lopez at bgonzalez18@utep.edu and dylopez2@utep.edu.
Additional information and policies can be found at After the Fact Payroll Policy and IBS Policy.
Updated Notice of Award (NOA)
ORSP recently updated the Notice of Award (NOA) document that we provide to PIs and Project Administrators when the award has been set up in PeopleSoft. This document summarizes the requirements and restrictions as well as budget information to help the PI better manage their award.
The recent changes include:
• The document has been condensed, from about nine pages to four, including budgets
• Increased Clarity of reporting deadlines and who is responsible
• The inclusion of bookmarks to identify more details on restrictions and requirements found in the official award document
Your Research Administrator will reach out to you to discuss the new NOA the next time you receive any award. We encourage you to review the document carefully and let us know of any questions.