The Office of Research and Economic Development announces three new Web sites that promote research at UNT. Two of the sites are UNT based research centers: Center for Electronic Materials Processing and Integration (CEMPI) and Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART); the third site showcases Discovery Park, UNT’s off-site campus for the College of Engineering and the College of Information and a progressive research park that promotes technology transfer and economic development. Read more
November 2, 2010 — Top leaders among UNT faculty were honored Tuesday afternoon at the annual UNT Research Reception and Awards Ceremony hosted by Vice President for Research Vish Prasad and the Office of Research and Economic Development. The event recognizes those research scientists, scholars, engineers and artists who show exceptional accomplishment for their research contributions.
Faculty across campus were nominated and evaluated for awards in five categories: 1) Competitive Funding Award, 2) Early Career Award for Research and Creativity, 3) Teacher Scholar Award, 4) Creative Impact Award, and 5) Research Leadership Award.
Congratulations to the following award recipients:
The Competitive Funding Award — Dr. Jeff Kelber, Regents Professor of Chemistry
The Early Career Award for Research and Creativity — Dr. Pamela Padilla, associate professor of Biology
The Teacher Scholar Award — Dr. Dee Ray, professor of Counseling and Director of the Child and Family Resource Clinic
The Creative Impact Award — Dr. Bruce Bond, Regents Professor of English
The Research Leadership Award — Wes Borden, Distinguished Research Professor of Chemistry and the inaugural Robert A. Welch Chair of Chemistry at UNT
A certificate for Special Recognition for Technology Development went to biochemistry professor, Kent Chapman. Read more
2010 Staff contribution award recipients were celebrated today in a reception as part of the annual Staff Appreciation Week at UNT. Individuals were nominated in September for excellence in service and team spirit, and a committee composed of staff peers, administrators, faculty and students selected the winners. Lacy Fenn, Assistant Director of Proposal Development and Design in the Office of Research and Economic Development was honored for her contributions along with 11 other staff recipients from across the university. Vice President of the Office of Research, Vish Prasad, and President Rawlins joined Lacy on stage to present her with a check for one thousand dollars and a commemorative statue. Congratulations, Lacy! The Office of Research appreciates your generous spirit and the hard work you do each day. “U” are appreciated at UNT and help make this university a wonderful place to work.
Provost Warren Burggren takes scissors to ribbon Oct. 16 to dedicate the Life Sciences Complex.
The four-story, state-of-the-art research facility with 87,000 square feet of space will support and enhance UNT's rapidly growing research in life sciences and be used for biochemistry and molecular biology, developmental physiology, genetics and plant science.
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Photo, from left: Michael Monticino, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Art Goven, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences; State Rep. Myra Crownover; President V. Lane Rawlins; Gayle Strange, former chair, UNT System Board of Regents; Warren Burggren, provost; Chancellor Lee Jackson; Steve Mitchell, UNT System Board of Regents; Rich Escalante, vice chancellor for administrative services; C. Dan Smith, chair, UNT System Board of Regents; Charles Mitchell, UNT System Board of Regents; Richard Miller, Perkins+Will; Rick Yoder, T.S. Byrne Construction; Kevin Sanders, president, Student Government Association.
October 13, 2010 — The University of North Texas Department of Chemistry will celebrate its 100-year anniversary with events this Friday (Oct. 15) and Oct. 25 (Monday) at the Chemistry Building, located at 1508 W. Mulberry St. (on the northeast corner of West Mulberry Street and Avenue C).
Among the events slated for the celebration will be a seminar presented by Nobel laureate Dr. Richard R. Schrock, Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Schrock will speak on Oct. 25 (Monday) from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 106 of the Chemistry Building. The event is free and open to public, and a question-and-answer session will follow the speech. Read more
October 8, 2010 — Dr. Jaime Jiménez, a leading expert on wildlife conservation and environmental studies in the sub-Antarctic region of Chile, will join the faculty of the University of North Texas in January, bringing a wealth of technical expertise to one of the university's most prominent areas of international and interdisciplinary research.
Jimenez will be part of the Sub-Antarctic Ecosystems and Biocultural Conservation research cluster, hosted at UNT by the Departments of Biological Sciences and Philosophy & Religion Studies in association with Chilean partners including the Universidad de Magallanes and the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity. This world recognized team collaborates with private agencies and government officials to implement long-term biocultural conservation in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve in Chile. Read more
September 24, 2010 — A cellist, a tuba player and two string quartets that have gainedinternational acclaim will be among the top-flight professionals coaching University of North Texas College of Music students this semester in master classes, free and open to the public.
Cellist Zuill Bailey, the Juilliard String Quartet, tuba player Tim Buzbee and the Prazak String Quartet will share their expertise with students, who will have the chance to perform and get one-on-one instruction from these acclaimed musicians. Read more
The Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program was recently awarded 2nd place in the 2010 Raanan Weitz Competition, which is an annual, world-wide call for proposals on innovative strategies to achieve sustainable development.
The submission, led by Dr. Ricardo Rozzi and Dr. J. Baird Callicott with the support of Dr. Francisca Massardo of the Universidad de Magallanes and UNT undergraduate student Kelli Moses, was entitled "The Omora Ethnobotanical Park: Conceptual and Methodological Advances for Linking Ecological Sustainability and Social Well Being in Southern South America." The award will be granted at the opening ceremony of the Rehovot Conference 2010 at the Wietz Center for Development Studies in Israel, which is a world leader in capacity building for sustainable development. The Center's work is dedicated to fostering the efforts of international organizations, governments, communities, civil society and private sector organizations to achieve economic and social improvements worldwide.
This current accolade adds to previous recognition regarding the pertinence of the "biocultural conservation approach" being pioneered by the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program. In 2008, the Omora Park and its associated team of researchers in the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program also won the "Science and Practice of Ecology and Society Award," given by the Foundation of Scientific Synthesis, and Dr. Ricardo Rozzi in the same year was awarded the "Sustainable Living Prize" from the Peace House Foundation in Santiago, Chile.
John W. Hooper, an information technology executive with more than 33 years of experience in information technology management, has been named acting vice president for information technology and chief information officer for UNT.
Hooper will take over for Maurice Leatherbury, who will retire Oct. 1 after serving as vice president for information technology since 2009 and working for UNT since 1993.
“Mr. Hooper has been a valuable university employee for nearly two decades, and he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new position,” said V. Lane Rawlins, UNT president. “Effective and efficient information technology systems are critical to the success of the university. John will ensure that those systems operate in an optimal manner.” Read more
September 20, 2010 — Wes Borden, the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Texas, has received the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, one of the American Chemical Society’s most prestigious honors.
The award, established in 1963 to encourage and reward outstanding contributions to physical organic chemistry, will be presented to Borden at the national meeting of the ACS in Anaheim, Calif., next spring.
In his research, Borden uses a form of quantum mechanics called molecular orbital theory to carry out calculations designed to further the understanding of the structures and reactions of organic molecules. “I am honored to have my name added to the list of previous winners, because it contains the names of the scientists who have been the world’s most respected physical organic chemists during the past 45 years,” Borden said. Read more
Oct. 5 (Tuesday) – Oct. 23 (Saturday)
Opening Reception: 4:30 – 6 p.m. Oct. 5 (Tuesday)
UNT Art Gallery in UNT Art Building (Map), one block west of Mulberry and Welch streets
The Annual Faculty and Staff Exhibition showcases artworks in all media by the accomplished artists working in the College of Visual Arts and Design, one of the most comprehensive university art programs in the nation. These artists impact communities around the world by guiding students to become smart, well-rounded professionals who positively influence the areas in which they live and work, including our own.
Date: September 16, 2010 - 4 to 5 pm
Location: Chemistry Building Room 106
Presented by Dr. Adam Briggle, this workshop highlights university guidelines, policies, procedures, and regulations related to institutional and public expectations about personal responsibilities and the consequences if personal actions violate or do not meet these expectations.
September 14, 2010 — A research team, led by Dr. Priscilla Connors associate professor in hospitality management, hopes to reinvent the cafeteria experience by studying food choice architecture as an economical way for school nutrition programs to both nourish children and unobtrusively educate them about healthy eating.
Connors, along with co-investigators Dr. Lisa Kennon, associate professor in hospitality management, Dr. Beverly Davenport, assistant professor in anthropology, and Dr. Carolyn Bednar, professor in dietetics from Texas Woman's University, received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to study food choice innovation in middle school cafeterias. Read more
The US/Mexico Technology Summit will provide an unparalleled opportunity for business leaders, policymakers, government officials, and technology advocates to exchange relevant and valuable information on Mexico’s advancing technology economy and methods to leverage our bi-national strengths and compete together in a global economy. Read more
August, 2010 - UNT chemistry professor, Angela Wilson, is among 192 distinguished scientists to be inducted into the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) 2010 class of Fellows. The ACS is composed of more than 161,000 professionals from diverse fields of chemistry and is the world’s largest science society. The non-profit membership organization’s mission is “to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people.” The Fellows program recognizes and honors ACS members who have made outstanding contributions to science, their profession, and society. 2010 Fellows include Nobel Prize winners, top journal editors, former ACS presidents, members of the National Academy of Science, and professionals representing a range of disciplines from industry, academia, and government. Fellows will be honored during the society’s national meeting in Boston at the end of August. Read more
August, 2010 - The first week of August, the Department of Chemistry is hosting The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE). This 5-day international event is the largest gathering of its kind in the world, bringing together over 1,200 chemists from the United States and over 15 other countries. The BCCE is co-sponsored by the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education. Read more
July, 2010 - President V. Lane Rawlins reflects on his first two months in office and shares these impressions in an open letter to the UNT community. Optimism and confidence frame his message as he addresses concerns regarding budget reductions, UNT’s future and commitment to its research goals. Rawlins affirms, “… this will be a good year at UNT, and I promise you that I will do what I can to keep us on track.” Read more
Reata Busby, Associate Vice President of Research, will be retiring at the end of July. Reata came to UNT 12 years ago from University of Alabama, Birmingham, prior to which she had worked in the research office at New Mexico State University. Beginning with a staff of four, she rebuilt the research office at UNT that now provides functional research support for pre- and post-award management, research data management, compliance, indirect costs, effort reporting and service centers. Reata plans to return to Alabama where she will consult with UAB and United Way, enjoy her friends and family, and hike the beautiful southeastern trails.
We will certainly miss her and wish her well in the next phase of her life.
The UNT Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarship(formerly the Office of Postgraduate Fellowships) assists undergraduate and graduate students in identifying and pursuing externally funded research and study opportunities. Dr. James Duban, director of the office, invites students to inquire about the preparation and credentials necessary to compete successfully for such postgraduate awards as Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, James Madison, Harry S. Truman, Andrew W. Mellon, and National Science Foundation scholarships and fellowships. Learn more about this office
The international Conference on the Application of Accelerators in Research and Industry, CAARI, brings together scientists from all over the world who use particle accelerators in their research and industrial applications. This will be the 21st international conference in the biennial series that began in 1968 as a Conference on the Use of Small Accelerators for Teaching and Research. Through the years CAARI has partnered with several national laboratories and universities, the National Cancer Institute, and many industrial vendors to make the conference a success.
August 8-13, 2010
Renaissance Worthington Hotel Fort Worth, Texas
Learn more
The 21st BCCE will be held August 1-5, 2010 at the University of North Texas in Denton. The 21st BCCE, like its predecessors, is designed to provide you opportunities to interact with chemistry instructors at all levels in formal and informal settings. The Conference will offer plenary lectures, symposia, workshops, chemical demonstrations, poster sessions, exhibits and tours. Read more
President V. Lane Rawlins, sent a message to the UNT community emphasizing the value of keeping education and research intertwined. He also highlighted how research and mentoring can enhance a student’s education and shape their future endeavors. A new website is available to encourage undergraduate students to make research part of their studies and gain valuable experience for graduate school or their future careers. Rawlins said through efforts like these UNT will become a major research institution while remaining a university of opportunity. Read Rawlins’ full message.
June, 2010 - The Smithsonian American Art Museum has announced the appointment of eighteen new fellows for the 2010–2011 academic year. Among the museum fellows is UNT College of Visual Arts and Design (CVAD) Associate Professor of Art History Jennifer Way, the Terra Foundation for American Art Senior Fellow at the Smithsonian, who will be researching the “Politics of the Handmade: the Significance of Southeast Asian Handicraft for America, circa 1955–61.”
The Terra Foundation for American Art Fellowships promote an international dialogue on American art via the formulation and exchange of new ideas. The Foundation supports a variety of lectures, symposia, and scholarly publications through grants to institutions and supports individual scholarship by offering residencies, fellowships, and travel grants.
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Posted by: Mellina Stucky
Faculty and staff began the move into the new $33.2 million Life Sciences Complex June 10. Faculty, staff and professional movers moved large and small items into the four-story structure, which is a state-of-the-art research facility for biochemistry and molecular biology, developmental physiology and genetics and plant science.
Major features include:
• An open research laboratory concept to promote greater interaction and collaboration and increased use of shared equipment.
• A climate-controlled rooftop research greenhouse designed for technologically advanced plant science research.
• An aquatics laboratory to allow researchers to study a wide range of human health issues, from blood clots and oxygen deprivation to aging, diabetes and cancer.
Read more
Dale E. Yeatts, professor of sociology, was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to conduct research in China for spring 2011. Yeatts, who will be located at Tsinghua University in Beijing, plans to visit several Chinese villages in rural settings with the goal of developing recommendations for improving the lives of the elderly. He also will work to further develop a theory of sustainable communities.
June 3, 2010 - UNT Department of Physics professors, Arup Neogi, Arkadii Krokhin and three graduate students attended The International Conference on Nanophotonics 2010, a premier conference in this field held in Tsukuba, Japan. Sponsored by the Optical Society of America and co-sponsored by the Optical Society of Japan, the event hosts more than 300 international scientists and researchers who convene to discuss developments in nanophotonics, ranging from bio/energy/environment applications to information technology and fabrication/characterization/modeling.
Some of the leading nanophotonics research groups in the world come from East Asia, especially Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. UNT students and faculty mentor, Neogi, have been working in close collaboration with Japanese researchers during the past four years. Given the caliber of participation at the conference, it is especially notable that graduate student, Tony Llopis, won the best poster paper award with Neogi for the presentation, "Near-Field Mapping of the Huang-Rhys Parameter," which concerns mapping light emitters in the nanoscale limit. Congratulation, Tony!
Neogi will continue this research initiative by traveling to the University of Tokyo this summer for the Japanese Government's Global Center of Excellence project in Nanophotonics.
Read about the conference
A collaboration between two University of North Texas academic departments has led to four psychology doctoral students and a graduate of the department spending a month in Guyana to share their knowledge with caretakers of orphaned children --while a UNT Department of Radio, Television and Film faculty member and one of the department's recent graduates capture their work on film for a documentary. Read more
The College of Engineering at UNT is offering summer research opportunities to qualified undergraduates from across the country in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. Read more
UNTs research clusters are collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams composed of leading researchers, faculty, students, and institutions engaged in seminal research and the synergistic exchange of ideas and resources. Scientists, artists, engineers, philosophers and other scholars join strategies outside-the-box in visionary enterprise.
The collaborative research clusters are funded through a $25 million commitment by the university as part of a long-term effort to bolster research, strengthen the state’s economy and develop technology vital to addressing today’s most pressing needs.
Visit the research clusters site to learn more or download the new research cluster booklet.
April 9, 2010 - Dr. Vish Prasad, vice president for the Office of Research and Economic Development, is pleased to announce several new additions to his staff. Learn more
April 7, 2010 - Could zebrafish one day replace mice as the preferred model to study prostate cancer? A researcher at the University of North Texas thinks it is possible. Pudur Jagadeeswaran, professor of biology, will present his research at the American Association for Cancer Research annual conference April 17-21 in Washington, D.C. The theme of this year’s AACR conference is “Conquering Cancer through Discovery Research” and will highlight the best cancer science and medicine from institutions all over the world.
Dr. Denise Perry Simmons, director of research and development at UNT, nominated Dr. Jag as conference speaker via her affiliation as an active member of the cancer research organization. His selection not only underscores the caliber of researchers at UNT, but the many ways in which the Office of Research and Economic Development supports and promotes its faculty. Read more
April 2, 2010 – The University of North Texas Office of Research and Economic Development released its Strategic Plan for 2011-2020, which addresses each of the seven areas in the THECB’s guidelines. The first step is to meet the eligibility requirements for the National Research University Fund by 2015, and then to move forward in the second phase to reach the Carnegie Very High Research Activity university category. Read Full Strategic Plan
April 1, 2010 – The University of North Texas logistics program continued to illustrate its prowess this past week, when a team of UNT students won the National Logistics Challenge for the third consecutive year. Read more
March 31, 2010 – Two internationally renowned researchers in the field of plant science will join the University of North Texas, bringing decades of experience and a wealth of technical expertise to one of the university's most prominent areas of research. Read more
March 29, 2010 – Dr. Elizabeth Oldmixon, associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas, has received a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach in Ireland for the fall 2010 semester. Read more
March 26, 2010 – Shelley Cushman, University of North Texas professor of dance, has earned the 2010 University Dance Educator of the Year award from the National Dance Association. Read more
March 24, 2010 – The University of North Texas will become the first public university in the state to begin a focused discussion on an open access policy when it hosts its Open Access Symposium May 18 (Tuesday). Read more
March 22, 2010 – Claudia Howard Queen, assistant professor of music for dance, has been selected for a grant at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. Read more
March 4, 2010 – UNT Professor of Psychology, Richard Rogers, Ph.D., ABPP, is affecting policy positions of the American Bar Association (ABA) with his research regarding juvenile Miranda warnings.
The House of Delegates of the American Bar Association passed a resolution into policy calling for "development of simplified Miranda warning language for use with juvenile arrestees." It cited Rogers as the "leading scientific authority on the linguistic variability and impact of Miranda warnings." The report quoted passages from Rogers’ NSF-supported research demonstrating that juvenile Miranda warnings average 50 words longer and are written at a slightly higher reading level than those typically used with adult offenders. The average youth offender has rudimentary verbal and reading skills. These teens are less likely to exercise their constitutional rights if they lack understanding of the protections that are available to them. Three central protections are 1) the right to an attorney, 2) continuing rights, and 3) free legal services. Research shows that less than one in seven teen suspects asserted their Miranda rights, with pre-teens exercising even fewer rights. The adoption of simplified Miranda language is intended to reach juvenile offenders to safeguard their protections and bring equitability to justice procedures.
ABA, with more than 400,000 members, is the largest voluntary professional association in the world. The ABA policy positions are highly influential with national initiatives to improve the legal system.
Feb. 23, 2010 – College of Visual Arts and Design Professor of Photography Dornith Doherty, one of the first Fellows of UNTs Institute for the Advancement of the Arts, will be going to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, only 800 miles from the North Pole, this March. As part of her ongoing project Archiving Eden, she has been working in research labs at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Colorado, and at the Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England. Read more
Feb. 19, 2010 – The UNT Research And Visualization Environment (RAVE) facility is now open
for business and scholarly work has begun. Read more
Feb. 17, 2010 – The Office of Research and Economic Development extends a hearty “Congratulations” to members of the Research Development Team! The department was one of four areas recognized today by the Office of the President for their significant contributions to the UNT community. Senior Director of Research Development, Denise Perry Simmons, accepted the Outstanding Service award on behalf of her team. UNT President Gretchen Bataille praised Research Development for marshalling and promoting the goals of the Tier 1 mission through their work with faculty and administrative leadership.
All of us in ORED are grateful for the work you do! Thank you:
Kenneth Sewell Lacy Fenn
Ruthanne Thomas Diana Dorer
Denise Perry Simmons Michelle Rumer
Richard Nader Michael Winston
Feb. 15, 2010 – The College of Engineering at the University of North Texas (UNT) will celebrate National Engineers Week with a career fair, competitions, a facility tour and a speech by the university's Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
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Faculty, graduate and post-doctoral research exchange programs are planned
Feb. 5, 2010 – Vish Prasad, University of North Texas vice president for Research and Economic Development and professor of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, led an 8-member delegation of UNT faculty scientists in January to meet with like-minded experts from seven elite, research institutions and research centers in three major cities of India, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai, to plan strategic partnerships and educational alliances. Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Energy Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering were among the departments represented.
Two memorandums of understanding (MOU) were signed between UNT and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and between UNT and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai that will foster graduate, post-doctoral, and faculty research exchange programs, and joint research activities. The plans underscore education. Training students is important because it exposes them to the research culture of the collaborating country and introduces them to practical techniques and procedures. Additional research strategies were discussed with the New Horizon Educational Institute, Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Mumbai, the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, and the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM), Chennai.
Since the creation of the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in 1909, India has steadily transformed its infrastructure through an investment in education, technology and science research facilities. India is recognized as an international leader in science and technology and hosts some of the world’s premiere research institutions. UNT scientists and engineers have been collaborating with Indian researchers and their affiliate institutions for years – attending symposiums, teaching, publishing papers, writing grants and sharing methodologies. So what does an institution-to-institution partnership mean? The UNT alliance formalizes these established relationships, which expands opportunities for funding, access to resources, equipment, facilities and high profile personnel so that real world solutions can be better addressed. A fortified research base will, ultimately, position UNT as a competitive, leading, Tier 1 research university. Rajarshi Banerjee, a UNT faculty delegate from the Materials Science and Engineering department and interim Director of the Center for Advanced Research and Technology, likens the endorsement to “growing a tree,” where the tree has been planted, and now the roots and branches can expand. This “root up” approach differentiates UNT from other institution-to-institution explorations, which may not have this foundation intact. UNT hopes to be a model for other institution partnerships.
Seed money will be available as the first step in a multi-tiered approach; the funds support travel for faculty and post-doctoral students to work in a host country. Travel aids research by providing access to specific equipment, facilities and expertise. These provisions form the backbone needed to secure major funding from federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (USA) and the Department of Science and Technology in India. Award money of this caliber will significantly facilitate real research in a competitive global market and increase UNT’s profile as an outstanding academic and research university. The conscious decision for UNT to grow its knowledge base through strategic partnerships such as these reflects the forward, visionary thinking of the current administration. Careful planning and changes set in motion now will, undoubtedly, have profound effects on the evolution of the university and its legacy.
Additional attending faculty include Ram Dantu, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Jeffry A. Kelber, Regents Professor of Chemistry, John Kuruvilla, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor in Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Alan Needleman, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Member of the National Academy of Engineering, and Srinivasan Srivilliputhur, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. These faculty bring a cross spectrum of excellence in their disciplines, with interests including computational modeling and the structural property of metals and alloys, air pollution meteorology and forecasting, aerospace and biomedical applications, advanced computer network security architecture, and atomistic modeling and molecular dynamics.
The Department of State considers support for The Sub-Antarctic Bicultural Research and Conservation Program
Jan., 2010 – Ricardo Rozzi, founder of The Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Research and Conservation Program and associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion
Studies at the University of North Texas, met with US-Chile Environmental Affairs Council and the Joint Commission for Environmental Cooperation at the Department of State in Washington, DC on Jan. 20-21. The meetings considered support for various environmental programs as part of the US-Chile
Free Trade Agreement enacted in 2003.
The Sub-Antarctic Program is a keystone player in a project of international importance: the preservation of the rich biological and cultural attributes of the Cape Horn Archipelago - located at the southern tip of South America in the sub-Antarctic eco-region, which is one of the world’s last pristine wilderness areas. The Program fills a unique gap in the environmental community by providing much needed research in a little-studied area. Dr. Rozzi will present the Program’s development of a research field station at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in the UNESCO Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. Created in partnership with UNT, Chile’s Institute for Ecology and Biodiversity, and the University of Magallanes, the station is a model research hub where students, faculty, the indigenous community and scholars share expertise to solve environmental issues and affect policy. The Sub-Antarctic Program is one of UNT’s seven research clusters created to advance educational opportunities and cross-disciplinary research. Kenneth Sewell, UNT associate vice president for research, accompanied Dr. Rozzi to emphasize UNT’s commitment to the Sub-Antarctic Cluster.
In addition to the meetings at the Department of State, Drs. Rozzi and Sewell met with the Chilean delegation (representatives from Chile’s Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), officials from the Ecological Society of America, and program officers at the National Science Foundation to solidify collaborations and to develop funding channels. Their visit to the nation’s capital concluded with a reception at the home of Chile’s Ambassador to the US, the honorable Jose Goñi.
For more information about the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Research and Conservation Program, see http://www.chile.unt.edu.
Research Collaborations Optimize Sustainable Energy Solutions
Jan., 2010 – The University of North Texas has partnered with the Texas Institute, a new non-profit organization that aims to make the North Texas region a leader in sustainable technology research by providing expertise and energy solutions in smart grid technology and a spectrum of environmental services. Building on the region’s prominent role in energy technology and its established knowledge base from area academic institutions, businesses and industries, Texas Institute is poised to evaluate and transform existing energy technologies for new, “smarter” network solutions that will, in turn, create green jobs and businesses.
Texas is the fastest growing economy in the nation. There is an immediate need to provide clean energy alternatives and reliable electricity to meet the demands of a burgeoning consumer base. Shared research expertise and large-scale funding sources will mobilize the Institute to compete globally and initiate cross-disciplinary strategies to address complex energy, environment, water and telecommunications issues as a laboratory research hub.
Vish Prasad, UNT Vice President for Research and Economic Development, said the partnership would serve UNT well.
“No single institution has all the infrastructure or all the expertise,” said Prasad, who will serve on the Institute’s executive research board. “This way, you work across disciplines and institutions to bring in big projects, attract more funding and give your research scientists more opportunities. This is about optimizing our resources and our expertise.”
UNT will provide student interns for IT projects and expert research faculty and other prominent leaders in sustainable technology for joint conferences and symposia.
Among regional academic partners are the University of Texas-Dallas, University of Texas-Arlington, Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University.
Jonathan Shapiro, founder and CEO of Texas Institute, brings 25 years of experience in the technology industry and was founder and CEO of Alliance Systems, a leading provider of server and storage solutions for computer and communications markets.
Nov. 4, 2009 – The Office of Research and Economic Development hosted its annual Research Reception and Awards Presentation on November 2 to honor UNT leaders in research, scholarship and creative endeavors. The reception also included an awards ceremony where six awards — five of which were newly created, were handed out to recognize outstanding faculty researchers. Read more
Sept. 22, 2009 – The University of North Texas today announced the formation of two new collaborative research clusters that will build on innovative research already under way on the campus. The announcement brings the total number of active research clusters at work to seven, following the initial announcement of the cluster initiative in September 2008. Read more