SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SwRI in the Community

Contact Us

SwRI Information

SwRI Diversity

Community Home

Southwest Research Institute and its staff actively support community service activities. Each year SwRI staff members participate in a variety of programs, which provide educational and community support, as well as sponsor an employee United Way campaign.

Education

Since 1994, SwRI engineers have served as volunteers and mentors for the annual SA BEST (San Antonio Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) competition, in which area high school students and mentors from local businesses team for six weeks to design and build remote-controlled robots that compete in a robot-to-robot competition. SwRI is a proud sponsor of the event.

SwRI is now serving for the 14th consecutive year as a host for the Young Engineers and Scientists (YES) Program, which offers high school students a real-world research experience. The three-week program includes presentations and facility tours given by staff members, as well as student-run projects. Participants continue their research project during the school year under the mentorship of an SwRI scientist or engineer.

SwRI staff members also routinely serve as mentors, speakers and science fair judges for area schools. Each year at the Alamo Regional Science Fair, the Institute selects one student to receive a cash prize and plaque for his/her science fair entry. The student also receives a tour of the Institute and an opportunity to meet with scientists and engineers in his/her field of interest. SwRI also hosts local high school students during National Engineers Week for an "Engineer for a Day" program. Students pair with staff members in laboratories to gain insight on the day-to-day life of an engineer.

More than 100 high school and college students work in student positions and internships throughout the Institute. Internships offer students an opportunity for hands-on, real world experience.

Each year two outstanding students receive the Martin Goland Scholarship, which was established for eligible children of staff members. The tuition scholarship is renewable up to four years.

In addition to the Martin Goland scholarship, SwRI is a Trinity University “Business Affiliate.” The Trinity University Business Affiliates program is a distinguished group of corporate supporters who make unrestricted gifts to the university's Annual Campaign. These annual gifts are used exclusively to provide scholarship and financial aid to outstanding young women and men. This year’s contribution from SwRI helped to support one scholarship.

Community

SwRI staff members actively participate in various community activities in San Antonio and surrounding communities as well as at SwRI off-site locations across the United States. In 2006, SwRI's employee campaign raised $473,838 for United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. In addition to monetary contributions, staff members volunteered their time to help refurbish facilities at the St. Peter-St. Joseph Children's Home, which provides residential care to abused, neglected, abandoned and homeless children.

The Research Recreation Association Benevolence Committee, an SwRI volunteer group, organizes several events that benefit the community such as blood drives and fund-raising activities for a variety of organizations including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes.

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

July 28, 2008