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Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) released the following statement upon confirmation that the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engine grant for El Paso has been eliminated:  

“A once-in-a-generation federal investment in our community was officially eliminated this week after being derailed last year by UTEP leadership. UTEP lost the NSF Paso del Norte Regional Innovation Engine grant, which was awarded by the Biden Administration in January of 2024 and began with a $15 million investment and likely would have grown to $160 million.

“This grant was written and won by Dr. Ahsan Choudhuri, formerly of UTEP, and was a collaboration with the City and the County of El Paso; its purpose was to grow El Paso’s defense manufacturing base, retain our talent, and create high-paying jobs. But a year ago, without warning, UTEP President Dr. Heather Wilson accused highly-respected and beloved El Pasoan, Associate Vice President and Founder of UTEP’s Aerospace Center Ahsan Choudhuri of “incorrect statements” in the proposal (despite the fact that UTEP was involved in the grant process), demoted him, and set off a series of events that led to the loss of the funding this week. Even up to the moment of his retirement, he remained a highly rated professor, including in his final UTEP evaluation. The accusation triggered an OIG investigation, which to date has not announced any wrongdoing by Dr. Choudhuri.

“The loss of this funding is about more than just the loss of money; this grant represented El Paso’s ‘moon shot’ that could have greatly advanced our local economy, increased wages, reversed our ‘brain drain,’ and put El Paso on track to very quickly be a part of the national defense manufacturing community. El Pasoans deserved to reap the benefits from this extraordinary collaboration and historic support from the federal government. As this opportunity officially evaporates, it’s important that the community understand what was lost, who lost it, and why.

“The only good news is that Dr. Choudhuri’s commitment to growing defense manufacturing jobs continues, albeit outside of UTEP, and the work the City, County, and my office have done to grow the economy in this sector remains unchanged. I remain committed to continuing to bring as many resources as possible to ensure we achieve this community goal, despite this devastating setback.”

You can read the Congresswoman’s op-ed on this grant and more here, and more information about the Regional Innovation Engines program can be found here.