Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute

SwRI Title
Company type	independent non-profit research company
Industry	high-tech research, government/military contracting, space research
Founded	1947
Founder	Thomas Slick, Jr.
Headquarters	Template:City-state, U.S.
Revenue	$564 million (2009)
Number of employees	3224 (2009)
Website	SwRI.org

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development (R&D) organizations in the United States. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Thomas Slick, Jr., SwRI provides contract research and development services to industrial and government clients.

The institute and its sister organization, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, are together known as the Southwest Research Center.

The institute's mission statement is "Benefiting government, industry and the public through innovative science and technology". Some of its core values are independence and impartiality.

SwRI initiates contracts with clients based on consultations and prepares a formal proposal outlining the scope of work. Subject to client wishes, programs are kept confidential. As part of a long-held tradition, patent rights arising from sponsored research are often assigned to the client. SwRI generally retains the rights to Institute-funded advancements. It holds more than 900 patents; in 2009 its employees received 31 U.S. patents.

SwRI consists of 11 technical divisions that offer multidisciplinary, problem-solving services in a variety of areas in engineering and the physical sciences. Nearly 2,000 projects are open at the Institute at any one time. These projects are funded almost equally between the government and commercial sectors. During 2009, SwRI provided $8.7 million to fund innovative research through its internally sponsored R&D program.

SwRI’s staff of over 3200 includes 270 holders of doctorate-level degree and over 500 master-level degrees. Its headquarters occupy almost more than two million square feet of office and laboratory space on a more than 1,200-acre (4.9 km²) site in San Antonio. The main campus features a health clinic for the employees, a media production facilities, a library and one of the offices of Southwest Research Center Federal Credit Union. The Institute serves clients from more than 20 locations worldwide.

The Institute is governed by a board of directors, which is advised by approximately 100 trustees. The institute's first president was Harold Vagtborg. He was followed by Martin Goland in 1959. Current president is J. Dan Bates.

Technical Divisions

The instute has thirteen technical divisions (as of 2010), that are listed below. The divisions are relatively indepent entities. Most of them are further divided into several departments. General or non-technical divisions (internally "cost centers") of the institute include: accounting, contracts, corporate travel planners, employee benefits, employee development office, financial data systems, human relations, information technology center, institute quality systems, legal and patents, and shipping and receiving.

• Aerospace Electronics and Information Technology
• Applied Physics
• Applied Power
• Automation and Data Systems
• Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
• Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research
• Fuels and Lubricants Research
• Geosciences and Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Office of Automotive Engineering
• Signal Exploitation and Geolocation
• Space Science and Engineering, with Planetary Science Directorate in Boulder, Colorado
• Training, Simulation and Performance Improvement

References

• About SwRI from SwRI homepage
• monster.com company info.

External links

• SwRI website
• SwRI quick facts
• Southwest Research Institute from the Handbook of Texas Online