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Steering
Research Directions:
Establish research directions and select
Center-designated projects through participation in the
Center’s Industrial Advisory Council (IAC).
-
Complimentary
Industrial Clinics and Start-Up Visits: Receive a one-day clinic and on-site visit to thoroughly explore your
needs with respect to Center opportunities.
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Leveraging
Effect:
Leverage your internal R&D resources via the Center
membership sponsored individual projects, i.e.,
Company-Designated Projects.
-
Synergy:
Pool resources with multiple members to address
long-range (pre-competitive) problems via
Center-Designated Projects.
-
Rapid
Deployment:
Evaluation and consultancy in new technology development
and deployment.
-
Training:
Assistance in training and professional development of
employees via center sponsored short courses and
workshops.
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Low Cost Access
to Resources:
Access to the Center laboratories and UTSA’s
intellectual resources (faculty, staff and students) at
a very economical way.
-
Intellectual
Property:
Right to use the Center reports, data, and information
internally for evaluation and further development. Gain
early access and nonexclusive rights to use patented
technologies and/or licensed software resulting from
Center-Designated Projects.
-
Networking:
Exchange of learning experience and sharing of best
practices among members via biannual meetings, Center
workshops, seminars, and special presentations.
-
Student
Employment and Internship:
Access to a pool of top-caliber students for employment
and internship opportunities.
The Center operates by
maintaining an affiliation of member organizations.
Each member pays an annual membership fee.
Membership Funds are then used to:
-
Perform
company-designated projects for individual members.
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Perform center-designated projects for companies sharing
common interests
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Technology transfer of
results to member companies.
-
Develop seminars,
training courses, etc. (member companies receive a
discounted rate).
-
Operate the center
(i.e., staff, administration, supplies, and travel).
-
Center-Designated Projects:
R&D projects tackling manufacturing problems of interest
to multiple member companies. These projects, which may
last 1 or 2 years, are selected/voted by members at
biannual meetings. Costs are covered by pooled annual
membership fees.
-
Company-Designated Projects:
Proprietary R&D projects tackling specific problems
determined by individual members and solely conducted
for those members.
There are three membership
categories: Advantage, Full, and
Associate, with annual fees of $50,000, $28,000, and
$15,000, respectively. Each member defines its own projects
(Company-Designated Projects) with an effort equivalent to
the allocated “Graduate Research Assistant Effort and
Faculty Researcher Effort.” The scope of each
company-designated project is determined jointly by the
member representative(s) and the Center investigator(s).
A small portion of the
membership fees is used to form a common pool of fund, which
is then used to support Center-Designated Projects. These
projects are selected by aggregate points voted by members.
The magnitude of each Center-Designated project is limited
by the total amount of funds available in the common pool.
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