Former UTEP professor provides statement regarding aerospace NSF investigation

UPDATE (FEB. 10)- Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri, the former UTEP professor, has provided the following statement regarding being cleared in the aerospace NSF investigation:

“I am grateful that the National Science Foundation’s review has confirmed that there was no wrongdoing on my part. Being wrongly accused and maligned was deeply difficult, but I have always stood by the integrity of the work, the accuracy of the proposal, and the collaborative effort that went into securing the Paso del Norte Regional Innovation Engine grant.

From the start, the allegations against me were entirely unsubstantiated, yet they triggered a cascade of events that resulted in the loss of a $160 million transformation grant to UTEP and cast an unfair stain on the Aerospace Center and me, which I built over the last 25 years into one of the best in the nation.

I am proud of the work we accomplished and deeply disappointed at the devastation that followed in its wake. El Paso deserved better. Texas deserved better. The brilliant and hardworking engineers and students in the UTEP Aerospace Center deserved better. I deserved better.

Despite this setback, my commitment to growing defense manufacturing, innovation, and economic opportunity in our region has not changed. I have continued this work outside of UTEP, alongside partners and many former UTEP staff who share the goal of building a stronger, more prosperous future for El Paso and a stronger aerospace defense capability for our nation.

Continued, unsubstantiated, and harassing charges from UTEP leadership are outrageous and out of line. The NSF thought enough of my record that they awarded me their largest grant in history. I retired on my own terms as a tenured full professor. I was an endowed distinguished chair, founder of the legendary Aerospace Center, and served as Department Chair of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering for eight years. I was also promoted to Associate Vice President, leading UTEP's economic development efforts, and was the highest funded faculty researcher in UTEP history and nine-time winner of Millionaire Research Award.

Now that the NSF has confirmed what I have known all along, it is time to identify who made these false allegations in the first place—and what their motive was.”

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 has received a response from UTEP after we reached out to the university following an NSF investigation clearing UTEP professor Ahsan Choudhuri and the 2024 aerospace grant application.

UTEP President Heather Wilson sent us this statement:

"I stand by our May 2024 finding that a former UTEP faculty member said we have a test range, buildings, and equipment to make available for an NSF research project that the university did not have. The faculty member’s statements were not true.  It’s not clear which investigation the NSF is referring to in its letter, but we remain confident in our personnel decision and our decision to disclose the truth to the NSF.  

This wasn’t the only issue that caused the university to remove this former faculty member from his leadership position.  Dr. Natalicio reprimanded him and removed him from his tenure track position at the university for plagarism on an NSF proposal in 2006, audit findings of his center in April 2023 found non-compliant procurement card purchases and significant financial issues, and he also was found to have violated the university nepotism policy in 2022.

He is no longer employed by UTEP."

ABC-7 was also sent a statement from the University of Texas Systems Chairman Kevin P. Eltife and Chancellor John M. Zerwas:

"We unequivocally support President Wilson and the decisions she makes. She leads with the highest degree of integrity, ethics, accountability, and compassion. She has the full confidence and trust of the Board of Regents and Chancellor, all of whom were briefed on a longstanding personnel matter she dealt with, and the admirable way she put the future of her university first. President Wilson continues to lead UTEP to national prominence in many areas including engineering, advanced manufacturing and defense innovation. UTEP is achieving record levels of enrollment, student success, research expenditures and philanthropy, including the largest gift in its history just this week. We are grateful to have a person of great integrity like President Wilson at the helm of our outstanding students, faculty and researchers."