ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories and The University of Texas System will sign a multi-faceted memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 6. The event begins at 9 a.m. in the Russell Senate Office Building, Room 284.
Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Sandia President and Laboratories Director C. Paul Robinson, and UT System Chancellor Mark G. Yudof, are scheduled to participate in the ceremony.
Members of the media are invited to attend the event. Photos and press availability will take place after the signing.
The MOU calls for:
- UT System to develop and implement an independent peer review process for Sandia’s science, technology, and engineering programs
- Joint development and implementation of “strategic program areas that enhance” Sandia’s broad missions in national security
- UT System to complement Sandia’s currently available educational opportunities by their uniquely qualified professors providing courses on specialized topics relevant to Sandia’s missions
Robinson says Sandia has established and maintained strategic partnerships with outstanding national institutions in academia, industry, and government. He says the MOU strengthens the strategic relationship, created several years ago between The University of Texas System, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Sandia.
Yudof said the agreement represents “a tremendous opportunity to advance the strong, existing relationship between our System and one of the country’s premier national laboratories.” He describes this is “a great opportunity for UT System’s faculty, students and researchers to be involved more directly in the unclassified, cutting-edge science and research being conducted by Sandia.”
The five-year agreement states that UT System will develop, perform, and be accountable for the peer review process of the Sandia Assurance System for Science, Technology and Engineering.
A newly designated UT System position on the Sandia Board of Directors will oversee technical reviews working through a new subcommittee of the Mission Committee of the Sandia board.
Another key aspect of the MOU will add to ongoing Sandia/UT System activities by undertaking joint technical research projects and collaborations that take advantage of complementary competencies in simulation engineering, high-energy density physics, sustainable energy security for the nation’s transportation infrastructure, and health security.
The agreement calls for Sandia and the UT System to use joint appointments so Sandia scientists can serve as staff for graduate programs at UT institutions and UT faculty, staff and students can have long-term involvement in Sandia research programs. UT System also plans to use professors from its several institutions to provide both on-site and distance education courses to Sandia personnel.
The UT System has 15 campuses, including nine academic and six health institutions, and an annual operating budget of $8.5 billion (FY 2005). Student enrollment exceeded 182,000 in 2004. The UT System confers one-third of Texas state’s undergraduate degrees and educates three-fourths of Texas health care professionals. With more than 76,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in Texas.