Nominees were asked to confirm their nomination by providing a brief statement on why they want to serve if elected. These statements, with links (if available) to the PI’s home page, are posted below.
2012-13 CPI election results are noted below.
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2012-2013 Vice Chair
- Slowey, Niall (Department of Oceanography, College of Geosciences) – “Through awareness of the spectrum of research conducted by Texas A&M researchers, and through my own research (NSF, NOAA, ONR, Texas, foundations & industry) and service activities, I am familiar with issues facing researchers. Successful research programs are essential for Texas A&M to achieve its research, teaching, and service missions. Our university does have both strong individual investigators and institutional resources, but we are now at a key crossroads. If the university is to maintain a long-term trajectory of improving academic excellence, at this crucial time the necessity of quality research to the university’s core missions must be made clear and then enabled. The CPI’s reason for being is to represent directly the interests of individual investigators and help them succeed. I am willing to serve as the CPI vice chair to help achieve this goal, so the investigators can thrive and the university as a whole benefits.”
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
- Allred, Clinton (Nutrition and Food Science) 2nd term – “It is a privilege to be nominated for a second term on the CPI. The research endeavors and other scholarly activities of the faculty are a vital component of the university and for many of us are why we pursued roles as PIs. In the past three years, I have faithfully served on the CPI attending the monthly meetings and reporting back important points of discussion to individuals I represent. I have also had the good fortune to serve as a representative of the CPI to several university level committees including most recently as the CPI representative to the University Research Council. While I am happy to have served in these different capacities, I am even more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Specifically, the CPI representatives from COALS recently met together and developed several plans of action to better communicate with the PIs in COALS and Agrilife. In part, this will come in the form of collectively reporting the activities of the CPI to all COALS and Agrilife PIs in a timely manner. However, as important, a concerted effort is to be made to seek input from these same PIs regarding questions and concerns they may have that are related to the college and agency which will then be conveyed to COALS and Agrilife administrators in regularly scheduled meetings. In essence, we hope for the CPI representatives to serve as a conduit for information not only to the CPI itself, but to the administrators of COALS and Agrilife. I am proud to have been a part of this organizational effort to better serve the PIs we represent and if reelected, I will work hard to see these plans through.”
- Awika, Joseph (Nutrition and Food Science) – “My desire is to contribute to making true value of university research more obvious to the general public and policymakers. At present there is a vocal segment strongly questioning the cost-benefit of our existence as publicly funded researchers. We cannot improve local research environment without addressing this.”
- Bryk, Mary (Biochemistry/Biophysics) 2nd term – “I consider nomination to a 2nd term on the CPI as an opportunity to continue contributing to the improvement of the research environment at Texas A&M University. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to voice the concerns, opinions and ideas of colleagues in my department and others in COALS at CPI meetings and to communicate back to them about issues being addressed by the CPI. The CPI provides an effective mechanism for the Texas A&M University research community to influence decisions made by the administration that impact the pursuit of research. I would like to continue to serve on the CPI in order to maintain an active role in improving research conditions for faculty, staff and students at Texas A&M University.”
- Sturino, Joseph (Nutrition and Food Science) – “If elected, I will work with faculty and administrators to improve the research environment at Texas A&M University for students, faculty, and research staff.”
- Talcott, Susanne (Nutrition and Food Science) – “I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science and an Adjunct Faculty member of the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology. I am a member of the interdisciplinary faculties in Nutrition, Toxicology and Food Science. My area of expertise is nutritional biochemistry with a research emphasis on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of naturally occurring bioactive plant compounds in the prevention of chronic diseases. My research support is derived from numerous federally and privately funded grants and takes an interdisciplinary approach with a broad range of collaborators in the US and abroad. I currently teach courses relevant to food science, nutrition and toxicology. I consider nomination to the CPI as an opportunity to interact with PIs across the campus and especially within COALS as a representative of my colleges at CPI events. I would like to take a proactive role in voicing and addressing their concerns and issues through the CPI and report discussion and developments back to the research community within COALS. It would be my honor and pleasure to serve on the CPI, as the improvement of research conditions for students, faculty and staff is crucial for the success of the research community of Texas A&M University.”
College of Education and Human Development
- Liew, Jeffrey (Educational Psychology)– “The Council of Principal Investigators (CPI) plays a vital role in working with administration to facilitate effective and efficient mechanisms and practices that ensure quality and ethics in research and teaching. I support the mission of the CPI, and would like to serve and contribute to its efforts. My research expertise is broadly in human development and the learning sciences. Developmental and education researchers bring unique perspectives and concerns to the table, because we often conduct research in the schools or homes with children and families. My research has addressed issues such school readiness, educational technology and STEM learning, achievement gaps, mental health disparities, and childhood obesity. The nature and scope of my research require collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts, and I understand the need for support and coordination within and across colleges and administrative offices. By serving on the CPI, I expect to work toward improving institutional mechanisms and practices that support the interests and needs of the members of our research community.”
Dwight Look College of Engineering
- Grunlan, Jaime C. (Mechanical Engineering) – “I wish to join the CPI because this body has been a strong advocate for Texas A&M University over the years. I believe I could further strengthen this already strong group and work to build Texas A&M back up. The school has lost its way, but I believe better days are ahead, especially if faculty bodies such as the CPI and Faculty Senate will exert a stronger influence over decision making. Please elect me and I promise to be a constructive advocate for Texas A&M, following the path laid out in Vision 2020 and the College of Engineering’s more recent Strategic Plan. I believe in both documents and want to make sure Texas A&M does not stray from them. There is no reason we cannot be a consensus Top 10 Public Research University.”
College of Geosciences
- Slowey, Niall (Oceanography) – “Through awareness of the spectrum of research conducted by college members and through my own research (NSF, NOAA, ONR, Texas, foundations & industry) and service activities, I am familiar with issues facing researchers. Successful research programs are essential for Texas A&M to achieve both its research and teaching missions. Our university does have both strong individual investigators and institutional resources, but we are now at a key crossroads. If the university is to maintain a long-term trajectory of improving academic excellence, at this time the crucial necessity of quality research to the university’s core missions must be made clear and then enabled. I am willing to serve on the CPI to help achieve this goal, so individual investigators can thrive and Texas A&M as a whole benefits.”
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
- Arosh, Joe (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences) – “It is important that the PIs have a voice in the decision making process of the university. I believe that the CPI can provide that voice. I am an active PI in College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), TAMU since 2004. I believe that research university like TAMU can reach the highest level of research excellency by letting the PIs invest their time and energy doing research and seeking funding support for that purpose. My service in CPI is primarily to serve as a voice for the PIs at CVMBS and to communicate their opinions, concerns and suggestion at this important university-wide forum and to work with the administration to remedy those concerns including to reduce the burden on the PIs to prove compliance with various policies and to minimize interference and maximize supporting the PIs, in order to achieve the highest research excellency by TAMU.”
- Porter, Weston (Veterinary Integrative Biosciences ) – No statement available.
- Zhang, Shuping (Veterinary Pathobiology) – “It is my understanding that the CPI plays a critical role in enhancing the research environment at TAMU. Funded by various sources, my research focuses on the pathogenesis and diagnosis of major infectious diseases in domestic and wild animals, such as salmonellosis and proventricular dilatation disease of psittacines. My research programs utilize classical and molecular microbiology methodologies and various animal models. I collaborate with many faculty members across college and campus, including chemists, epidemiologists, pathologists, and clinician scientists. I am in a unique position to represent the PIs who conduct biomedical research or clinical/diagnostic investigations. I will work diligently to help address the concerns over research administration and infrastructure.”
College of Science
- Bangerth, Wolfgang (Mathematics) – “Wolfgang is a computational scientist in the Department of Mathematics. Since coming to A&M in 2005, he has been on some 15 grants, mostly in collaboration with colleagues from various engineering departments, all of which require the use of extensive compute resources. Given that compute resources are relatively underdeveloped on our campus compared to other universities, Wolfgang’s primary focus will be to represent the interests and needs of computational scientists. Wolfgang is also a member of the Supercomputing Advisory Council at Texas A&M.”
- Guermond, Jean-Luc (Mathematics) – “I want to help the CPI to defend the highest scientific standards in the university and in our society in the large.”
- Straube, Emil (Mathematics) – No statement provided.
- Thomas, Terry L. (Biology) – “I am completing my first term as a member of the Council of Principal Investigators (CPI). I am seeking re-election to the CPI because I want to continue to represent and promote the interests of the research community. My 2+ years of membership on the Council of Principal Investigators have been challenging but exciting. During this time, I served as the CPI Vice-Chair (2009-2010) and CPI Chair (2010-2011); I am currently the Past-Chair.of the CPI. During my term, the CPI has addressed a number of ongoing issues that significantly impact the research enterprise, and I would like to continue working on these important issues on behalf of the College of Science and the CPI.”
Mays Business School
Texas A&M Health Science Center – IBT, College of Pharmacy, Rural and Community Health Institute
*The CPI defines a “PI” as a PI or Co-PI on at least one externally reviewed and funded project or grant within the previous three years. –see bylaws, Section 2. Representation, A. Definition of PI
**see bylaws Section 2. Representation, F. Allocation of Seats