The National Science Foundation has suspended a grant that could have meant $160 million for El Paso’s regional economy because of some “incorrect statements” in the proposal, according to the University of Texas at El Paso.
UTEP issued a statement to El Paso Matters Monday afternoon that said the university became aware in early April of potential errors in its proposal to the NSF for the Regional Innovation Engines program. An in-house review determined that the statements in question committed resources to the NSF that the institution did not have, according to the statement.
On April 25, the NSF directed UTEP to suspend work on its Regional Innovation Engines pending further review.
The university sent a letter to the NSF on Tuesday to address what it believes to have been the erroneous claims in its proposal.
“UTEP will work with our regional partners and the NSF to provide the NSF information needed for this important work for El Paso to resume as soon as possible,” according to the university’s statement.
As of now, Kenneth Meissner, dean of the College of Engineering, will serve as acting head of the UTEP Aerospace Center.
UTEP in its statement makes no mention of Ahsan Choudhuri, who had been in charge of the program and served as associate vice president of the UTEP Aerospace Center.
Choudhuri was not immediately available for comment.
UTEP was one of 10 institutions to earn the NSF Regional Innovation Engines designation on Jan. 29. Each team was to receive up to $15 million over the next two years, and could earn up to $160 million during the next 10 years.
At the time, Choudhuri said that the grant would unlock the potential of small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the region to participate in the U.S. aerospace and defense supply chain.
The UTEP team, led by the Aerospace Center and the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, comprising 18 partners in Texas and Southern New Mexico, made up the Paso del Norte Defense and Aerospace Innovation Engine. It was to focus on robotics and advanced manufacturing.
Choudhuri has estimated that the program could grow the necessary talent and infrastructure to increase the region’s share of advanced industry jobs from 3.2% to 25%.
Today, the Aerospace Center partners include NASA and the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy as well as numerous industry partners. It explores new technologies and solves challenges in the fields of space, defense, energy and aeronautics.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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