News Release

UTSA receives $1.2 million gift from Kleberg Foundation

Grant and Award Announcement

University of Texas at San Antonio

San Antonio … Officials with The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) today announced receipt of a $1.2 million gift from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation that will be used to purchase a second generation aberration corrected electron microscope. The instrument, one of only two worldwide, will help nanotechnology researchers develop new cancer therapies and treatments that combat a variety of human diseases. The microscope is not just for UTSA. It will be available to scientists across the globe and across many disciplines to advance research in their respective fields.

"We are extraordinarily grateful to the Kleberg Foundation for its support of UTSA," said Ricardo Romo, UTSA's president. "This gift will put UTSA and nanotechnology research on the map at a time when UTSA hopes to become a Top-100 research university."

"The board of the Richard J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation is very happy to be a contributor to UTSA and the progress that is going forward at the university, progress that will be a benefit to the community, state, country and the world at large," said Helen K. Groves, foundation president.

UTSA will house its new microscope, manufactured by industry leader JEOL USA, in its Advanced Microscopy Laboratory under the supervision of world-renowned researcher Miguel Yacaman, chair of the College of Sciences' Department of Physics and Astronomy. There, it will support first-class research in nanotechnology, materials science, medicine, biology, chemistry and engineering, allowing scientists to view images at a resolution of less than one Angstrom (10^-10 meters).

"Our global team understands the significance of UTSA's broad vision, and we are committed to providing JEOL's premier technology and applications support to help them achieve their goals," said Pete Genovese, JEOL's vice president and general manager, sales and marketing.

Tom Isabell, JEOL's TEM product manager, materials science, added, "The selection of this new, extraordinary microscope will provide collaborating research scientists with a unique gateway to study and share their experiences and knowledge about atomic properties - in action - at the nanoscale."

"This microscope will open up the world of science to researchers at the atomic level much the same way that telescopes such as the Hubble opened up the universe to astronomers," said Yacaman.

UTSA's microscope is slated for installation in October 2009. The instrument takes six months to fabricate and three months to install. Once up and running, researchers from across the world can send samples to UTSA, then through remote access, conduct experiments without leaving their home laboratories.

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The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Texas and the second largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be a premier public research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA serves more than 28,400 students in 64 bachelor's, 46 master's and 21 doctoral degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond.


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