Members can select to participate at the Base Level ($15,000) or Advanced Level ($25,000) annual membership. Each participating industry member will have up to two designated representatives (four representatives for advanced members) who will attend the annual meetings in which they:
- Can propose new research ideas for potential new projects; the research ideas must be received by Prof. El Mohtar 30 days prior to the annual meeting. Prof. El Mohtar will use these ideas, along with his own proposed ideas, to develop potential research projects and present them at the annual meeting.
- Can discuss, comment and propose modifications to the future research proposals presented at the annual meeting;
- Can vote on future research proposals to reach a ranked final list of projects (Base Level members get one vote and Advanced Level members get 2 votes). The final number of new projects and the detailed research plan for each of the projects will be finalized by Prof. El Mohtar depending on number of members participating in the IAP and number of continuing projects from a previous year;
- Can opt to serve on the advisory committee for one project (two projects for Advanced LEvel Memebers). The advisory committee for each project will have 2 web conferences during the year to discuss interim progress and provide feedback;
- Gets updated on outcome of all the different ongoing research projects and can provide feedback and suggestion on how to move forward with these projects;
- Will receive a copy of any publication ahead of submission and will have the opportunity to provide feedback and comments.
- When applicable, can serve on the Ph.D./M.S. committee of graduate students.
- GIGGs will provide financial support for multiple graduate students every year leading to continuity in well trained graduate students ready to work on other projects and to train new students. The presence of these trained students will increase productivity and make research more efficient. As a result of this higher efficiency, GIGGs members who want to perform their own independent projects under separate contracts with The University of Texas at Austin will be able to leverage these more efficient processes which are expected to translate to a 50% overall reduction in research costs for project with expected budgets less than or equal to twice the membership fees. The contract terms and expected outcome of such projects will be negotiated as independent contracts between the individual member and The University of Texas at Austin (including any NDA agreements needed) and will not be shared with other GIGGs members, or other industry persons, unless the individual member requests so in writing.