Program Overview

TSR&TP History and Mission

Responding in 1985 to an initiative from the State of California Legislature, the University of California developed a coordinated program of research and teaching to address the many issues associated with toxic substances in the environment. The UC Toxic Substances Research and Teaching Program (UC TSR&TP) supports research and graduate education in toxics-related fields to help provide the new concepts and scientific talent that are essential to solving the growing problems of toxic chemicals in our environment. Through its lead campus programs, the TSR&TP strives to develop Centers of Excellence for research on the impacts of toxic substances on human and environmental health, and on new methods for preventing or mitigating such impacts. The program also strives to serve as a focal point of communication among the research community, industry, government and the public via its newsletter, annual report, researcher directory (Toxics Directory), workshops, and forums.

Programs

The UC TSR&TP supports research and graduate education in toxics-related fields with a grants program that includes seed grants and fellowships to UC faculty and students. In addition, the UC TSR&TP maintains lead campus programs in aerosols and health, green materials, and nanotoxicology. These programs bring together faculty and students from many fields around a set of environmental problems by funding graduate student and postdoctoral researcher training, developing interdisciplinary courses and seminars, and hosting workshops and conferences on relevant environmental topics.

Oversight

The program is overseen by an executive committee of UC faculty from all 10 campuses, the three UC affiliated National Laboratories, and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. This committee is also responsible for selecting grant and fellowship recipients. An advisory committee consisting of representatives from local and state government agencies, state legislature, private industry, and public interest groups helps set the program's research needs. The director is aided by an associate director.

Director's Office

The Director, John Knezovich, is an adjunct Professor of Environmental Toxicology at UC Davis and a senior scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The staff in the Director's office includes the Program Manager, Program Coordinator, Systems Administrator and Programmer. They administer the grant and fellowship programs, maintain the program's information system, publish the newsletter and research directory, and coordinate the annual symposium.

Budget

The UC TSR&TP distributes approximately $1.7 million to support research and teaching each year. The lead campus programs receive about $1 million and about $500,000 is distributed through a competitive grants program administered through the director's office. In addition the UC TSR&TP occasionally manages specialized initiatives such as the MTBE research program mandated by the California Legislature.

Studies on the Economic Impact of TSR&TP Trainees & Affiliated Faculty

In 1998, the TSR&TP began conducting a research project to determine the economic impact of our seed funding on former trainees and affiliated faculty. A brief on the results of the first trainee survey has been published by the California Policy Research Center. We have also summarized the results of the followup trainee surveys and the faculty survey completed in summer 2000.