‘Rising Star’ Baylor Researchers Meet with Congressional Delegation, Staffers and Agency Officials on Capitol Hill
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WACO, Texas (June 21, 2017) – A delegation of “Rising Star” researchers at Baylor University participated in the first Baylor Research on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., to share more information about the University and its research initiatives with key policy- and decision-makers.
The event was organized by Truell W. Hyde, Ph.D., vice provost for research at Baylor, and Grant Jones, program coordinator for the Baylor in Washington program.
Baylor’s “Rising Star” designation provides outstanding tenure-track researchers, selected by their deans, with focused proposal preparation support, special consideration for institutional seed funding in support of their research and opportunities for face-to-face networking with funding agency officials.
As part of the international community of scholars, Baylor University serves the world through research discoveries and creative endeavors that illuminate solutions to significant challenges confronting our world.
The “Rising Star” faculty researchers who presented on Capitol Hill were:
• Erica D. Bruce, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental science in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, who presented her research on new mechanisms for combat casualty care that will enhance the safety of military members;
• Elyssia S. Gallagher, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, also in the College of Arts & Sciences, who presented her research on bioanalytical markers that will provide earlier detection and treatment of disease; and
• David A. Jack, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering in Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science, who presented his research on recent advances in aerospace composites that will make air travel safer.
Hyde, who also serves as professor of physics and director of the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER), highlighted recent additions and developments at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative. The BRIC is the centerpiece of the Central Texas Technology and Research Park and provides researchers, organizations and private companies with more than 300,000-square-feet of physical space for labs, research centers, industry collaborative space and workforce training.
Among the attendees were U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas), former Congressman Chet Edwards and his wife, Lea Ann, and staffers from the office of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Transportation and U.S. House Committees on Commerce and Science, Space and Technology.
“Research funding at the federal level is highly competitive and becoming more so,” Hyde said. “Baylor has faculty who are absolutely at the top of their field and whose work will contribute significantly to addressing some of the most urgent challenges we face today as a nation and society. This kind of face-to-face exposure with the people who decide where funds are expended helps inform those decisions.”
Members of Baylor’s student body senior leadership for 2016-2017 also attended the event. They and student leaders from each Big 12 university were in Washington, D.C., for the annual Big 12 on the Hill conference during which they met with legislators to discuss issues important to college students.
Those attending Baylor Research on the Hill were Student Body President Lindsey Bacque, of Port Barre, Louisiana; External Vice President Amye Dickerson of Katy, Texas; Internal Vice President Joel Polvado, Old River-Winfree, Texas; and Student Regents Emily Neel of Waco and Daniel Thomas of Charlotte, North Carolina.
ABOUT THE BAYLOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COLLABORATIVE (BRIC)
The Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) – the first, and cornerstone, facility of a 21-acre discovery complex that comprises the Central Texas Technology and Research Park – provides researchers, organizations and private companies with more than 300,000 square feet of physical space for labs, research centers, industry collaborative space and workforce training. The BRIC places many of Baylor’s most accomplished scientists and engineers in a uniquely collaborative environment, rich in resources and primed for incisive innovation in quantum physics, cosmology, and mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, ranging from the biomedical, geospatial and environmental sciences and beyond. The BRIC adds another practical dimension to discovery by bringing these and other highly sought support resources within easy grasp of entrepreneurs, businesses and industries whose very survival depends on timely innovation. For more information, visit www.baylor.edu/BRIC.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.