U.S. National Science Foundation responds to UTEP’s aerospace grant suspension
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- As we reported on Monday, the U.S. National Science Foundation instructed the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to suspend work on the Regional Innovation Engine and Aerospace Center pending further review on April 25.
In a statement sent to ABC-7, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) said:
"The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) became aware of a potential issue with the NSF Regional Innovation Engine (NSF Engine) led by the University of Texas at El Paso and immediately referred the issue to our Office of Inspector General (OIG) for further review. No NSF funding will go to this NSF Engine, including to any of the organizations involved in the award, until the OIG can complete their review. Every organization that submits a proposal to NSF for potential award must certify the accuracy of the proposal’s contents, and all awards that NSF makes undergo a rigorous review of scientific merit and broader impacts.”
We have reached out to UTEP for more comments or information on this matter.
Monday night, UTEP sent a statement saying:
"On or about April 6, UTEP became aware of potentially incorrect statements in its proposal to the National Science Foundation for the Regional Innovation Engine Program. UTEP conducted a review and found that the statements in question committed resources to the NSF grant that UTEP does not have. We have sent a letter today (May 6) informing the NSF of these erroneous claims."
