From: paul@gergo.tamu.edu (From under the rock of Paul Stine)
Subject: Re: New Conference (Best of Big8/SWC)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Keywords: n
Organization: Geochemical and Environmental Research Group - TAMU
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 21:34:00 GMT

In article <1992Nov4.230245.15493@tamsun.tamu.edu>, gws6860@tamsun.tamu.edu 
(Gary Wayne 'Goober' Smith) writes...
  In article <2AF7EDFF.19518@news.service.uci.edu> jaykay@orion.oac.uci.edu 
  (R. Jayakrishnan) writes:
J: Texas ranked below A&M in research ?  I know you are biased about this
J: and that criteria could differ for comparing research (based on quantity,
J: quality or money ?), but what is your source for this statement ?

G: A&M has received more outside research support for about the last 10 years.
G: The source, hell i don't know, but it's been published many times through
G: the years.  A&M ranks in the top-10 nationwide in that catagory and uses 
G: it as a selling point.

J: A&M does have some very good research programs (agriculture for instance),
J: but Texas has more programs in the top 5 and top 20 than A&M, I think.
J: There could certainly be some criteria that may put A&M over Texas;
J: I am just curious about your source....

	  According to the Nation Science Foundation the distribution 
	of federal research dollars was:

				       Overall Rank
		School             1980            1990
		-----------------------------------------
	        Texas A&M           20               8
	        Texas               16              15

G: Texas has larger and much more established graduate programs, but the
G: figures indicate that A&M receives more outside support.  What A&M spends
G: it on, I don't know.  Is the quality as good, I don't know.  I was told 
G: once that nearly half of the funding in the C.S. department (my department) 
G: comes from outside support... I don't know about the validity of that.  I 
G: do know that outside research money is heavily stressed when petty little 
G: things such as tenure and raises are mentioned.

G: - goober (half of my salary comes from outside support) smith

	  The research group I work in brought in $11 million last year
	alone. Out of about 60 or 65 full-time people here, only one 
	quarter of one person's salary is state budgeted, the rest is 
	'soft' money. Our research moneies come from a variety of sources 
	in the federal government (EPA, Dept of Interior, DOE and DOD)
	and the private sector. 
	
[gets out soapbox with TAMU stenciled on the side]

          It is amazing to me that people still think of Texas A&M 
	as a heavily agricultural school. A&M has the largest engineer-
        ing school in the country. A&M is a land-, sea- and space-
	grant university. It is also the home to many multi-institution
	research projects such as the Ocean Drilling Program and the 
	World Ocean Circulation Experiment and is part of the Super-
	conducting Super Collider project. Still with 40,000+ students
	we are considered a cow college in a sleeply little town. I'm
	not saying that like it is completely a bad thing, though.

[puts that soapbox away]
	
	ObCollegeFootball: Despite the public being un- or mis-informed 
	about the size and scope of Texas A&M University, their football
	team is still ranked #5 in the nation and is undefeated and 
	untied.

	-------------------------------------------------------------
	Paul E. Stine EE TAMU'83	Geochemical and Environmental
	aka "barkeeper"			       Research Group
	PAUL@GERGO.TAMU.EDU	  College of Geosciences and Marine Studies
					    Texas A&M University
					
	  The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of 
	 the Texas A&M University System. I'm not even sure they are 
	 mine, as I think I had my opinion removed as a small child.
	-------------------------------------------------------------