A Champion for ASPIRE: New Position Open at UTEP

As ASPIRE looks to the future, the Engineering Research Center’s core campuses are expanding their impact by progressing from partner universities to regional hubs — areas that will lead out in innovative research and development in their areas. With a new position open at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the Southwest will soon be home to one of these regional hubs. 

“We want to branch out and expand the regional influence we can have,” said Civil Engineering Associate Professor Ivonne Santiago, the ASPIRE UTEP Campus Director and ASPIRE Co-Director. “In the case of UTEP, we’re talking the Southwest, not just Texas, but also New Mexico, and Arizona. I think it’s really important to have someone that can champion for ASPIRE, advocate and find funding for this ASPIRE Foundation.” 

The launch of the ASPIRE Foundation, a domestic non-profit headquartered at Utah State University, allows the Center’s efforts in workforce development to move from exploratory research to deployment-focused efforts.  With support from the University of Texas System Board of Regents, UTEP seeks to recruit an outstanding research leader to advance research in transportation electrification, electric vehicle infrastructure, and intelligent transportation systems. 

The successful candidate will help expand UTEP’s leadership within the NSF ASPIRE Engineering Research Center by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthening strategic partnerships, and accelerating the deployment and adoption of electrified transportation technologies across Texas and the Southwest region. 

“What we’re looking for with this proposal is someone that will do research, but at the higher technology readiness levels (TRLs),” Santiago explained. “We’re looking for someone that will bring, develop, and help integrate the technologies developed by ASPIRE into applicable testbeds for higher TRLs that can be demonstrated in the region.” 

This high TRL research — referring to translating research in the lab into real world applications, including testbeds and pilots — is an excellent way to allow the public to actually see what research is happening at ASPIRE. And seeing is an important step of the public believing and understanding our mission at ASPIRE, according to Santiago. 

“I often tell people that the best way to know what we’re doing is by visiting the EVR facility, Inland Port or the Indiana pilot site, because you have to see it to believe it. Many people assume that these technologies are still theoretical models or exist only in computer models,” she said. “I tell them , ‘No, no, no, you have to understand we are already doing all of these things in ASPIRE. The future isn’t something we are waiting for: The future is now!” 

By bringing some of these pilots and research into the ground in or near El Paso, more people in the Southwest will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the groundbreaking technology being developed at ASPIRE. 

The new person who is hired will be given the opportunity to help accelerate these innovations in electrified transportation systems and navigate multidisciplinary backgrounds. Because of this multidisciplinary role, it is open to individuals from backgrounds such as civil, environmental, electrical, industrial, or other types of engineering that pose strong leadership skills. 

“We want someone who will be a regional leader — a champion for ASPIRE. Someone who will easily move between government and non-government agencies and be able to translate what we’re doing in order to obtain funding to secure additional test beds and bring that higher TRL research into the region,” Santiago said. “It can be anyone, but I think for my part, I feel like it has to be someone with very strong leadership skills that can help articulate what ASPIRE is about and what we want to accomplish.” 

To learn more and apply for this position as a dedicated high TRL researcher, development integrator and technology mobilizer, click here. For the latest news, publications, and research highlights from ASPIRE, visit aspire.usu.edu.

About ASPIRE: 

ASPIRE, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center headquartered at Utah State University, leads groundbreaking research and development at the transportation-grid edge. With over 400 global collaborators, ASPIRE focuses on creating seamless, affordable electrified transportation systems, accessible for all vehicle classes, along with the public infrastructure needed to support them. By reducing costs, improving air quality, and fostering economic growth through job creation and workforce training, ASPIRE’s work spans engineering, social science, policy, and business. Partnering with top universities, industry leaders, and community groups, ASPIRE is driving the future of advanced transportation-grid systems. Learn more at aspire.usu.edu. 

Contacts: 

Kat Webb
Content Director
Marketing & Communications 
ASPIRE ERC  

Writer: 

Kayleigh Kearsley 
Marketing & Communications Intern 
ASPIRE ERC