Six projects at Texas A&M University received $9.5 million under the 2008 Defense Appropriations bill, officials announced Tuesday.

The bill was signed into law Tuesday by President Bush. The funds were earmarked for the projects by U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

Texas A&M officials said the federal funding is vital to research efforts.

"Without this funding, there would be an awful lot of research that wouldn't be happening at all," said Keith Young, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "We would be spending a lot more time applying for grants and a lot less time actually doing the research."

The appropriations bill allotted $3 million to improve the training grounds at Fort Hood in Killeen that have been eroded by tank and other training operations on the base.

The money will fund research by scientists in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences into ways to control the erosion and degradation of those grounds.

The second-largest sum -- $2.7 million -- went to researchers with the Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to research biological causes of post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The hypothesis is that there's a type of brain that people have that causes them to be depressed or have PTSD, depending on the type of stress they experience," Young said. "By understanding the biology of what makes people experience psychological problems, we can come up with new and better treatments."

The appropriations bill includes $1.2 million for experts with Texas A&M's Dwight Look College of Engineering to work with the U.S. Air Force to develop sensors for satellites to make sure they are not being tampered with or attacked.

"It has far-reaching applications other than the military because so many sensitive satellite communications are in the business world as well," said G. Kemble Bennett, Texas A&M vice chancellor and dean of engineering.

Two other projects in the College of Engineering each received $800,000. Those projects involve ways to use lasers to detect biochemical agents in the atmosphere and ways to protect and extend the life of rotor blades on military helicopters in desert environments.

Another $1 million was earmarked for College of Engineering research to support and enhance digital simulations of battlefield conditions at Fort Hood.

"[Federal funding] really drives our advanced research program in areas where we have been focusing our expertise for quite some time," Bennett said.

In addition to the Texas A&M defense project, the bill included $2.64 million for defense research at Lynntech Inc. in Brazos County. The funds will be used to develop chemical and biological threat detection systems, officials said.

• Arena Welch's e-mail address is arena.welch@theeagle.com.

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