Electrical Engineering Awarded $222,000 in TETC/TWD Grants

The Texas Higher Education Coordination Board announced on April 21 that two Texas Workforce Development (TWD) grants have been awarded to the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Mukul Shirvaikar, Associate Professor is the Principal Investigator (PI) on the first grant in the amount of $125,000. Dr. Hassan El-Kishky is the PI on the second grant in the amount of $97,000. Dr. Hippenstiel, Dr. Beams and Dr. Pieper are the other faculty members on the grant teams. These grants are sponsored by the Texas Engineering & Technology Consortium (TETC): a non-profit organization supported by 9 member companies and has 34 participating schools in Texas. The State of Texas through the Coordinating Board matches funds provided by TETC member companies and the federal government. Through TETC, TWD grants focus on best practices in recruiting and retention to increase the number of engineering and computer science graduates in Texas. 

The Electrical Engineering Department will be using the grant money to set up a tutoring program and an engineering laboratory to increase the retention of freshmen, underrepresented minorities and women. Mark McClure the Executive Director of TETC said, “The grants just announced will result in more engineering undergraduates to help offset the pending shortage of engineering talent in our state and nation. An adequate supply of engineering professionals continues to be a major economic issue for the State of Texas. ”  Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that by 2012 Texas will have a projected shortfall of over 17,000 electrical and computer science engineers caused by business growth and retirements.