Researchers at the University of North Texas are on the verge of revolutionizing the construction industry by developing natural alternatives to fiberglass and other popular, non-biodegradable building materials.
Four UNT researchers recently received almost $600,000 to develop sustainable, energy-efficient and multifunctional bioproducts for construction purposes from the National Science Foundation's Partnership for Innovation program. The program connects researchers and small businesses in an effort to transform knowledge created by academic research into innovative solutions for the real world.
UNT will work with InnoVida Southeast in Miami, Fla., and Ladonia Market Center (LMC) in Ladonia, Texas, to develop composite panels that use plant fibers in the place of glass fibers. The UNT team will be led by Dr. Nandika D'Souza, professor of materials science and engineering, who will oversee the design and creation of the new materials. The composite materials could be used for construction, cars and aircraft and for a number of other uses. Currently, 3 to 5 billion pounds of fiberglass are produced annually. Read more
Dr. Vish Prasad, vice president for research and economic development at the University of North Texas, has been selected as a 2011 recipient of the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award, which is sponsored by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
Prasad was recognized for his success in establishing international research partnerships. He has created dozens of new research collaborations and academic partnerships in more than 40 countries, spanning four continents.
Since arriving at UNT in 2007, Prasad led the development of a dual degree master's program between UNT and the Universidad de Magallanes in Punta Arenas, Chile, which has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of State and multiple agencies within the Chilean government.
He also led UNT's effort to establish strategic alliances with seven elite research institutions and research centers in three major cities in India: Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai. The initiative worked to expand exchange opportunities for faculty members and graduate and post-doctoral students. Prasad was honored by the Greater Dallas Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GDIACC) in 2010 with a Texas-India Educational Partnership Award for outstanding contributions that facilitate educational exchange between the two countries. Read more
The University of North Texas is leading the charge to produce a quality green-collar workforce by building a state-of-the-art Zero Energy Research Laboratory, where students and faculty will get first-hand experience with sustainable energy technologies of tomorrow.
The facility is designed to test emerging technologies that allow building systems to have a net-zero consumption of energy, and once completed will be the first of its kind in the United States. The UNT Board of Regents approved the facility on June 17 (Friday), and construction on the lab is slated to begin in July at UNT's Discovery Park, a 300-acre research campus.
The 1,200 square-foot structure is expected to be completed in early 2012. The building will include a main utility core, a bathroom with a shower, a small kitchen with a refrigerator and an open flexible laboratory space for research. Initially, the facility will be powered by solar energy and will be expanded to include other alternative energy sources such as wind to allow a wide range of zero-energy building research. Read more
Three graduate students and a professor embarked on a project to find artistswho lived or worked in the Wichita Falls area before 1970 – and they uncovered a rich artistic history that they hope will inspire local school children.
Expecting to find about a half dozen artists from the area, the researchers instead discovered about 65, including nationally prominent artists such as Leslie Turner, who created the Captain Easy syndicated comic strip in 1937, and western artist Frank Tenney Johnson, who died in 1939. Above, Johnson's Changing Horses on the Pony Express, courtesy of the Autry National Center and copyright Estate of Frank Tenney Johnson.
The students and D. Jack Davis, director of UNT’s North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts, selected about 15 artists and wrote a five-lesson curriculum unit about the artists who documented the life, land and culture around them. They are conducting two teacher workshops this June to introduce Wichita Falls-area teachers to the units. The teachers will in turn take the lessons back to their students. Read more
By Julie West
Many undergraduates must wait for graduate school to experience the thrill of discovery that comes from doing immersive, hands-on research. But opportunities come sooner for students participating in the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) program, a highly selective program that enables students to participate in advanced educational programming at select universities each summer.
Undergraduate students from across the country converge this summer at the University of North Texas to engage in graduate-level research through the university's NSF-REU programs. These grant-awarded programs give young students unique access to university expertise and facilities to perform cutting edge research among a community of peers, graduate and post-doc mentors, and distinguished professors. The NSF-REU programs are often housed at nationally recognized research universities— many of which also are National Research Universities. Read more
Rosa Aloisi will never forget the crowd of women holding signs in honor of their deceased loved ones outside the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands in July 2009. The women awaited the start of the trial of Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader who faced war crime charges for his role in the Bosnian Civil War.
"I'm looking for my son," one sign read. "Justice for my family," another read.
Aloisi, a doctoral student in political science, was interning at the tribunal, which prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes. Karadzic faces 11 charges, including genocide, committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians during the war in the 1990s. Read more
Dr. Alan Needleman, professor with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been selected to receive the 2011 Timoshenko Medal -- widely regarded as the highest international award in the field of applied mechanics -- from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
The Timoshenko Medal was established in 1957 and is conferred in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of applied mechanics. Instituted by ASME’s Applied Mechanics Division, it honors Stephen P. Timoshenko, world-renowned authority in the field, and it commemorates his contributions as an engineer and as a teacher. The Timoshenko Medalist delivers a non-technical lecture at the Applied Mechanics Dinner at the ASME winter annual meeting, which will be held this year in Denver, Colo., on Nov. 11-17. Read more
Grandparents who are the primary caregivers of grandchildren face a variety of challenges that parents may not, says Bert Hayslip, Regents professor of psychology, a lead investigator for a national four-year study known as Project COPE (Caring for Others as a Positive Experience).
Project COPE is being funded by a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research, a division of the National Institutes of Health. More than 500 grandparents in California, Maryland, Ohio and Texas will participate in Project COPE. Each grandparent will be randomly assigned to one of three interventions — learning coping skills to handle the demands of raising grandchildren or participating in a support group with other custodial grandparents. Read more
May 2011 — Friction and wear can be devastating to complex mechanical systems, especially systems that operate under extreme conditions. For instance, thermal cycling in jet engines can cause accelerated wear, which can lead to mechanical failures and higher maintenance costs.
Dr. Thomas Scharf, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at UNT, is working on developing high temperature solid lubricants that would minimize the negative effects of friction and wear. Scharf and Dr. Jincheng Du, an assistant professor of materials science at UNT, are working on a project funded by a $282,079 National Science Foundation grant, which will study how changes to the structure and chemistry of solid oxide lubricants can influence their high temperature properties.
The three-year NSF project began this month and will include computational and experimental elements. Scharf will use advanced electron microscopy and chemical spectroscopy tools housed in UNT's Center for Advanced Research and Technology, to gain insight into how structural and chemical changes can improve the friction and wear resistance of lubricants. Read more
May 2011 — James R. Morrow Jr., Regents Professor of kinesiology at the University of North Texas, has been named the 2011 – 2012 Alliance Scholar by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Scholars are chosen annually as a national recognition signifying excellence in research and contributions to the field of kinesiology.
Morrow, who has been a member of UNT’s College of Education faculty since 1993, focuses his research on the measurement and assessment of physical activity in children, youth and adults, and in finding solutions to problems related to the validity of self-measurement tools available to gauge physical activity. Morrow has also worked to provide researchers and practitioners with accurate and reliable physical activity assessment tools.
Jerry Thomas, dean of UNT’s College of Education, said the honor brings great visibility to UNT and the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation. “Alliance Scholar is the top recognition for a lifetime record of research in the field of Kinesiology,” Thomas said. “Dr. Morrow is widely acknowledged as the top active scholar in the area of measurement of physical fitness and physical activity.”
As part of the Alliance Scholar recognition, Morrow will travel the world to lecture on his field of research, and present the Alliance Scholar Lecture at the 2012 AAHPERD Convention in Boston. Read more about Morrow. Read more about the Alliance Scholar Program.
DENTON (UNT), Texas — Two graduate students from the University of North Texas, Jody Huddleston and Rebecca Weber, have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.
The fellowships are given to students who plan to earn research-focused master's and doctoral degrees in the science, social science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Fellows receive a stipend of $30,000 a year for up to three years. Neither Huddleston nor Weber intended to pursue careers in research when they first began their higher education journey. Read more
DENTON (UNT), Texas — The University of North Texas has expanded its research cluster program, adding four new clusters and two new areas of strategic investment. These six areas of emphasis were identified for their great potential to address social and economic problems affecting society, such as issues stemming from disasters and global conflicts.
Research clusters are part of a long-term plan to bolster transformational, integrative and high impact research and address complex scientific, technological, environmental and societal problems through interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. The cluster program was launched in 2008 by The Office of the Provost and The Office of Research and Economic Development to advance research, strengthen the state's economy and develop technology vital to addressing today's most pressing needs. The primary thrust of the new clusters is to hire additional faculty researchers, many at the senior level, over the next three years. Read more
April 2011 — An initiative is underway to build a Sub-Antarctic research and educational conservation center in Puerto Williams, Chile, to bring awareness to the unique ecosystems and indigenous culture of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and archipelago — a UNESCO world heritage site and labyrinth of pristine forested wilderness, islands, fjords, Andean highlands and wetlands located at the southernmost tip of the South American continent.
The Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program — a collaborative research alliance between the University of North Texas (UNT), the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), and the University of Magallanes (Umag) — is leading the proposal to build the eco-center. Conceived as a strategic international destination for conservation education, the future center will be built near the Program’s research field station in the Omora Ethnobotanical Park, a site of unique biodiversity and natural beauty based on Navarino Island. Together, the center and field station will constitute a major research conservation hub, offering an exhibition gallery and sustainable tourism courses that serve the general public, guest researchers and students, with access to cutting edge research tools and some of the world’s most distinguished conservation scientists.
“This center will help humanity to discover the jewels and the treasures hidden in the biodiversity of Cape Horn that have not yet been seen, illuminating and making it visible to the world,” said Kenneth Sewell, associate vice president for research at the University of North Texas. Dr. Sewell visited the proposed site in early April with a team of architects, ombudsmen and partner institutions. Read more
April 2011 — Two students from the University of North Texas’ Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science have been named 2011 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, and two received honorable mentions. UNT tied with the University of Houston for the most Goldwater honors at a public university in Texas.
Goldwaters are considered to be among the country's most prestigious scholarships awarded to students planning careers in mathematics, science and engineering. All college sophomores and juniors are eligible to compete for the scholarships, which provide a maximum of $7,500 each year for one or two years to cover tuition, fees, books and room and board. The Goldwater Foundation, a federally endowed agency established in 1986 to honor the former senator, awarded 275 scholarships from a field of 1,095 mathematics, science and engineering students.
This year’s scholars from UNT – Patricia Nano and Andrew Ding – are both students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, a two-year residential program at UNT that allows talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while earning their high school diplomas. Two TAMS students - Udayan Vaidya and Lee Chen – received honorable mention. The students are classified as college sophomores. Read more
With the help of its collaborative research clusters, UNT is making strides toward becoming a major research university. In 2008, the university launched the first phase of the research cluster initiative with the goals of advancing research, strengthening the state’s economy and developing technology vital to addressing today’s most pressing needs. With two years’ momentum behind them, these clusters have attracted top faculty and students and continued groundbreaking research. UNT expanded its commitment to the initiative in the fall by investing in four new research teams and five areas of strategic development.
Learn more about the clusters’ premier researchers and advancements in the Spring 2011 issue of The North Texan.
April 2011 — A process developed by a UNT doctoral student and his mentors is giving cellular biologists a new window into both plant and animal physiology. Previously, researchers could determine the chemical composition of a sample but could not determine where
the chemicals came from within the sample. Now biologists and chemists will be able to create chemical maps of cellular structures at the molecular level. This advancement will result in a better understanding of how plants and animals function.
Patrick Horn, a UNT doctoral student under the direction of UNT biologist Dr. Kent Chapman, pioneered the process with help from students in Dr. Guido Verbeck’s Imaging Mass Spectrometry Laboratory. Horn used technology developed by Verbeck, an assistant professor in the UNT Department of Chemistry, to visualize the chemical composition of lipid droplets. Lipids are present in all organisms and typically are stored as fats and oils in small droplets. Read more
March 9, 2011 — Hundreds of lost works of art from the Iraqi Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad are documented in a new database that became publicly accessible this month, thanks to seven years of research led by Dr. Nada Shabout, a University of North Texas associate professor of art history and a leading expert on modern Iraqi art.
Called the Modern Art Iraq Archive, the database at the Modern Art Iraq Archive website has become one of the most comprehensive collections of information about the artworks, many of which disappeared from the museum after lootings and fires following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"This database is only the beginning, as we hope that others will contribute more information that will continue to shed light on modern Iraqi culture," Shabout said. "Few of the lost works of art have been recovered, but having information about them in this database is the next best thing. Otherwise, it's as if they never existed -- and a large part of modern Iraqi culture would be lost." Read more
Photographs courtesy of Anam Bakali
By Julie West, UNT publications specialist, Office of Research and Economic Development
Everyone loves a good story. Academics are no exception, and in a university with thousands of faculty, there are bound to be interesting stories expressed in very different ways, from poems and films to philosophical arguments and scientific papers. But how effectively can academicians communicate the ‘story’ of their research to audiences outside their discipline? The perception of ‘academic elites’ persists, perhaps, for good reason. As important as it is to vet ideas and publish among peers, the impetus to solve important environmental problems and other issues in the world requires new strategies for interaction and shared expertise. Yet not everyone knows the tools and techniques to reach diverse audiences or realizes the importance of doing so.
Four University of North Texas faculty members from different departments discuss this challenge as it concerns their respective areas of research and explore how other groups legitimize message. Melinda Levin, chair of the Department of Radio, Television and Film and a documentary filmmaker, Steve Wolverton, an environmental scientist and archaeologist teaching in the Department of Geography, Robert Melchior Figueroa, environmental justice philosopher and associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, and David Taylor, a poet, writer and author teaching in the Department of English, came together as panelists in a 2010 conference sponsored by the Society of Ethnobiology in Victoria, B.C. to present the topic: Science, Life and Politics: Tools for Legitimizing Stories. Taylor’s participation in the Society of Ethnobiology panel was funded by a generous grant from the Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity (CSID) at UNT.
Read more
New faculty synergize early music program in the UNT College of Music
By Julie West, UNT publications specialist, Office of Research and Economic Development
Sackbut. Shawm. Archicembalo. Bandora. These words, not commonly heard in everyday conversation, refer to musical instruments that date from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods — ‘early’ music eras that transformed music across Europe and remain at the heart of our Western music traditions. The eras they represent may be long past, but early music instruments such as these evoke a musical palette that’s new for modern audiences, with colors and a range of expression unique from their contemporary counterparts and untethered by time.
Early music flourishes in the present at the University of North Texas. On a daily basis it can be heard wafting from classrooms, rehearsal studios and concert halls. The Early Music Studies program within the College of Music has steadily transformed in the last decade, garnering praise and recognition from musicians and audiences worldwide. Its ensembles offer one of the largest and most active performance activities of its type in North America. With a collection of over 250 early music instruments, nearly any ensemble of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries can be assembled. Recently retired teacher and former director of the program, Lyle Nordstrom, built the Baroque orchestra and strategically shaped the collection during his ten-year term as director.
February 21, 2011 — Plastics are the most popular manufacturing materials in today's economy, but researchers are still trying to engineer the materials to have properties, such as strength and wear resistance, that are more commonly found in metals.
Materials scientists manipulate the properties of plastics by adding solid fillers and reinforcers to molten plastics, but the addition of the solids increases the viscosity of the liquid, making it more difficult to mold.
Read more
February 16, 2011 — The University of North Texas has selected Dr. Stevens Brumbley, a well-known bioengineer with expertise in plant metabolic engineering, as the first senior hire to the Renewable Bioproducts research cluster, a group of researchers exploring “green” product solutions to move the world away from a petroleum based economy toward a biological based economy, or bioeconomy.
Brumbley joined UNT this semester after four and a half years as a senior research fellow and project leader of the Sugarcane Metabolic Engineering Group at the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Brumbley will retain a 25 percent appointment at the University of Queensland while he completes a project funded by a $2.4 million grant from the Australian Research Council. Read more
February 16, 2011 — Nearly 200 undergraduate researchers from Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Programs across the country will gather at UNT for the 13th Annual Texas National McNair Scholars Research Conference on Feb. 18 (Friday) through 20 (Sunday).
On Feb. 19 (Saturday), oral presentations will be held from 8:20 a.m. to noon and 3 to 4 p.m. on the first floor of the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building, which is located at 1704 W. Mulberry St, on the northwest corner of Avenue C and West Mulberry Street. Poster presentations also will be on display from 1:30 to 2:50 p.m. in the atrium. Read more
February 2011 — The Green is Good weekly radio show features UNT Director of Sustainability, Dr. Todd Spinks, in conversation with Shon Anderson, Vice President of Energy Solutions Sales at Schneider Electric, discussing green-minded initiatives that are transforming the UNT campus. Hear the podcast
February 10, 2011 — Two undergraduate students from the University of North Texas will present their research on Feb. 14 (Monday) at the Texas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Austin. The Undergraduate Research Day is designed to showcase the experiences of undergraduate students engaged in research for Texas legislators and the public. The program will highlight how research conducted by undergraduate students positively impacts Texas and Texas residents.
UNT students Adrian Cadar, a senior biology major, and Udayan Vaidya, a student in the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at UNT, will be among the more than 140 undergraduate students who will present 80 research projects at the event. UNT is among 50 public and private universities across Texas participating in the event. Read more
February 1, 2011 — A new University of North Texas Design Research Center (DRC) has opened in downtown Dallas to serve as an "urban laboratory" where graduate students and faculty members can spark and sustain design-driven solutions to pressing contemporary problems.
Construction began in December to renovate the 3,000-square-foot space -- a former police substation -- adjacent to the UNT System Building at 1908 Elm St. The renovated space includes a conference room, student work stations and classrooms. At the DRC, interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students will work closely with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and corporations in the community to address social, environmental, economic and public policy concerns. Classes began in the building on Jan. 18. Read more
Additional Context
January 2011 — How can the major universities of Texas compete with the nation's best? Krys Boyd of THINK talks with University of North Texas Chancellor Lee Jackson about what defines a Tier One university, strategies for developing a nationally recognized research powerhouse, and plans for the new UNT Dallas campus and law school.
Topic: Competing with the Best
Guest: Lee Jackson
Date: Friday, 01.21.11
View the video
January 2011 — Shane Mecklenburger’s work has taken him to a fairly unusual place for an artist — the chemistry lab. There, the assistant professor in the College of Visual Arts and Design is deactivating gunpowder through a process developed by Justin Youngblood, assistant professor of chemistry. With funds from a UNT Research Initiation Grant, the gunpowder will then be turned into a work of art - a diamond.
The gunpowder diamond will be the first creation in Mecklenburger’s interdisciplinary art project that explores what people value by producing a series of synthetic diamonds from carbon sources that have little or no market value. By creating diamonds from unusual sources, the project aims to raise awareness of global issues while encouraging a conversation about society’s values. Read more
January 2011 — University of North Texas, in partnership with the Universidad de Magallanes, the Chilean Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, and several U.S. and Chilean non-profit organizations, has opened the world’s first environmental philosophy, science and policy field station at the southern tip of Chile in the village of Puerto Williams.
The new Cape Horn Field Station supports an international network for interdisciplinary environmental research opportunities for faculty, students and affiliated research scholars, helping to place UNT’s work at the forefront of conservation and study in the Cape Horn archipelago. Read more
In one of his popular television specials, comedian Chris Rock points to the irony of streets and roads named after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., — they’re located in some of the most violent neighborhoods in the U.S., even though King stood for non-violence. “If a friend calls you on the telephone and says they’re lost on Martin Luther King Boulevard and they want to know what they should do, the best response is ‘Run!’” Rock famously advised.
UNT graduate student Eric Katzenberger decided to prove or disprove the stereotype held by Rock and others by identifying the location of all streets or roads specifically named for the civil rights leader and demographic information of the neighborhood in which the streets and roads are located, using geographic information systems and data from a past U.S. census. Read more
Additional Links: Pegasus News; MSNBC
Two’s a Charm for Nickel Complex
January 10, 2011 — A multi-institution research team has prepared the first two-coordinate transition-metal complex containing an imido ligand. This coordinatively unsaturated nickel(II) complex demonstrates enhanced chemical reactivity over more highly coordinated complexes and potentially signals a new facet of research for organometallic chemists.
The active versions of transition-metal complexes in many chemical reactions, such as olefin metathesis and the reduction of nitrogen to ammonia, contain multiple bonds between a metal with a vacant d orbital and a ligand with abundant electron density. But chemists struggle to re-create these reactive intermediates as isolable molecules. Read more
DENTON (UNT), Texas — University of North Texas professor and researcher Dr. Pudur Jagadeeswaran has been awarded $200,000 by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to fund research that will determine if zebrafish can be used to develop an early detection method for prostate cancer. The grant was one of 52 grants CPRIT awarded to 13 institutions in Texas, totaling more than $40 million in cancer research funding.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men, but currently there is no test available to detect prostate cancer in its early stages. The two-year research project seeks to develop a test that can detect prostate cancer in its early stages and can be treated with chemotherapy. Read more
DENTON (UNT), Texas — Two researchers at the University of North Texas are among an international team of scientists that are the first to publish the DNA sequence for strawberries, a development expected to yield tastier, hardier varieties of the berry and other crops in its family.
Vladimir Shulaev and Ron Mittler, both professors of biological sciences and researchers in the plant signaling cluster at UNT, collaborated with team of 75 researchers from 38 institutions around the globe, to obtain the genome sequence. The sequence was published in the January issue of Nature Genetics, a science journal that specializes in genetics research. Read more
Research at the University of North Texas will continue to expand with a commitment to invest in four new collaborative research clusters and five strategic areas that will advance UNT toward major research university status. As Texas’ fourth largest university with more than 36,000 students choosing to study in its 12 colleges and schools, UNT is the north Texas region’s most comprehensive research university.
This commitment begins Phase II of UNT’s research cluster program. The clusters are part of a long-term plan to bolster transformational, integrative and high impact research and address complex scientific, technological, environmental and societal problems through multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation. The new cluster areas add to the previous seven clusters that already are advancing with high profile hires. Read more
December 2010 — University of North Texas Senior Director of Research Development, Denise Perry Simmons, has been selected to serve as editor of the Dallas Regional Chamber “Life Science Quarterly Review” and will assume editorial responsibilities effective immediately and concurrent with her post at UNT, where she works to increase research growth in the university through proposal development.
“The Quarterly Review” will connect hospital, university and institute researchers as well as business and commercial executives, investors, healthcare providers and service providers of the Dallas/Fort Worth region. It will be an important source for entrepreneurs and researchers to learn about the scope of grants and contracts related to cancer prevention and intervention and will also serve the investor community with information about the Life Science industry — service activities across the chemical, pharmaceutical, medical and scientific research and development industries in DFW. Read more
DENTON (UNT), Texas — Because training in sport environments that emphasize leanness, muscularity and body shape may damage male athletes' body image and self-concept, a University of North Texas doctoral student in psychology plans to research body image of male collegiate athletes competing in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, including their rates of eating disorders and other weight control behaviors.
Justine Chatterton and her major professor, Dr. Trent Petrie, received a $16,931.90 grant from the NCAA for the study. They plan to recruit at least 1,000 male collegiate athletes from across the nation for the study, with the athletes completing an online questionnaire about pressures they receive from coaches, teammates and others, and about behaviors they engage in that are symptoms of, or may lead to, disordered eating. Read more
November 9, 2010 — Dr. Alan B. Albarran, professor of radio, television and film at the University of North Texas, has been appointed chair of the 2012 Research Symposium by the Broadcast Education Association, the professional organization for faculty members, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises.
During the BEA Research Symposium, which is part of the organization's annual convention, scholars from around the world report the latest research on selected topics in media management and economics. Read more
November 11, 2010 — Flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of helplessness, and intrusive, upsetting memories -- the typical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder -- are not uncommon in those who have been sexually assaulted or faced violence or abuse from their spouses or romantic partners. For some, being a victim becomes central to their identity, with the sexual assault or other violence defining how they see themselves.
Two University of North Texas psychologists, Dr. Amy Murrell and Dr. Adriel Boals, will determine if Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is effective in treating PTSD symptoms in clients of Denton County Friends of the Family, which provides free outreach services to those who have been affected by relationship violence, sexual assault or both. Read more
November 2, 2010 — During deployments, military personnel often work rapidly changingschedules, sleeping for a few hours at a time whenever they can and sometimes being forced to cut sleep short and awaken quickly to respond to an ambush, mortar or rocket attack or other emergency situation. Their erratic sleep patterns usually continue when they return from deployment, leading to insomnia.
Dr. Daniel Taylor, a University of North Texas associate professor of psychology, has received a $1.16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to determine the effectiveness of online and in-person cognitive behavioral therapy to treat active duty military personnel who are experiencing these sleepproblems. Read more
October 29, 2010 — The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), thesecond largest funding source for cancer research in the United States, kicks off its second year by awarding 52 cancer research grants totaling $40,302,026 to 13 Texas institutions. University of North Texas Biological Sciences Professor, Pudur Jagadeeswaran, was amongst the recipients of the high impact reseach category.
The grants awarded are the first of $216 million expected to be awarded by CPRIT in 2011 to support groundbreaking cancer research, drug development, and evidence-based cancer screening efforts in Texas. Read more
University of North Texas doctoral student Joe Louis has been selected to receive the 2010 John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award by the Entomological Society of America.
Louis, who currently is working toward his doctoral degree in plant molecular biology, is one of five students across the country chosen to receive the prestigious and highly competitive Comstock award. The award is designed to promote interest in entomology at the graduate level. Read more
October 12, 2010 — The University of North Texas will host a series of events to celebrate the opening of the new Life Sciences Complex and the 40th anniversary of the Institute of Applied Science this weekend.
The events will take place Oct. 15 (Friday) and Oct. 16 (Saturday) and will coincide with the UNT Homecoming game against Florida International University and other Homecoming events on Friday and Saturday. All events are free unless otherwise noted.
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. Read more
October 12, 2010 — Marijke Breuning and John Ishiyama recently received the Heinz I. Eulau Award from the American Political Science Association for their study on factors that determine polices regarding intercountry adoption in 38 African nations. Read more
The University of North Texas will build one of the most advanced materials analysis laboratories at any university when it begins construction of its new Nanofabrication Analysis and Research Facility in November at UNT's Discovery Park .
The new $6 million facility will integrate UNT's Center for Advanced Research and Technology (CART) with a new clean room that will allow scientists to synthesize and process samples of new materials and then test and examine them at the molecular and atomic levels using CART's 27 state-of-the-art instruments and microscopes. CART is one of the nation's most extensive facilities for powerful materials characterization and analysis. Read more
October 4, 2010 — With a higher percentage of citizens of U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands like the Marshall Islands and Palau undereducated than U.S. citizens, the islands need libraries with professionally trained staff to provide many educational services and computer access.
The Department of Library and Information Sciences in the University of North Texas College of Information will provide full scholarships for 23 residents of the Pacific islands to enroll in its online master's degree program in library and information science.
The goal of the program, called LEAP: Library Education for the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific, is to increase the number and diversity of degreed library professionals for the islands. It is funded by an almost $1 million grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This grant was awarded to UNT through IMLS' Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, which provided funds to 38 projects. Read more
October 1, 2010 — University of North Texas doctoral student Joe Louis has been selected to receive the 2010 John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award by the Entomological Society of America. Louis, who currently is working toward his doctoral degree in plant molecular biology, is one of five students across the country chosen to receive the prestigious and highly competitive Comstock award. The award is designed to promote interest in entomology at the graduate level. Read more
The Castleberry Peace Institute, named in honor of former Dallas Times Herald editor Vivian Castleberry, right, is now part of UNT’s Peace Studies Program, the only peace research center in the region.
The Castleberry Peace Institute is housed in the Department of Political Science and was founded in collaboration with Peacemakers Incorporated, an organization Castleberry created in 1987. Peacemakers sponsored its first international women’s conference in 1988.
DENTON (UNT), Texas — The Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at the University of North Texas has been selected as a finalist for the 2010 Examples of ¡Excelencia! award at the baccalaureate level. The nomination is in recognition of the UNT McNair program's role in assisting Latino students conduct and produce research and earn degrees in higher education. Read more
September 24, 2010 — Psychology professor Adriel Boals and post doctoral student, Amanda Kraha, relay that a U.S. study has found that overweight youngsters not only face discrimination at school and in relationships but from their own parents at home.
Studies have shown parents are less likely to help overweight or obese offspring pay for college but researchers from the University of North Texas in Denton have also found parents may be less willing to help their overweight child buy a car.
"No one is going to be surprised that society discriminates against the overweight, but I think it is surprising that it can come from your parents," researcher Adriel Boals told Reuters Health.
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Dr. Krishna M. Kavi, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, directs the National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center to create cutting-edge software that will make it possible for complete computer networks to link together ground troops, air combat personnel, snipers, decision makers, soldiers and superiors so that snap decisions may be made to hit enemy targets and to avoid civilian casualties. The Net-Centric Software and Systems Center also includes two other universities and about a dozen high-tech companies. The Chronicle of Higher Education features the NSF Center in this article.
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September 20, 2010 — Reports have shown that Texas is facing critical shortages of qualified math and science teachers, and the situation is becoming dire now that the state has implemented a requirement that high school students must complete four years of both math and science.
The College of Education at the University of North Texas, which began as a teaching college, is committed to graduating exceptional teachers in an effort to ease the teacher shortage. A new grant from the National Science Foundation will help the college continue its commitment to developing excellent teachers.
The college received nearly $750,000 from the NSF's Noyce Program. The program honors the late Dr. Robert M. Noyce, the scientist credited with the invention of the integrated chip, and is dedicated to improving mathematics and science instruction in American public schools. UNT received a $500,000 grant from the NSF's Noyce Program in 2005. Read more
September 13, 2010 — Elm Fork Education Center at the University of North Texas will train an army of citizen scientists in the most pressing water supply and quality issues facing North Texas with support from the Wal-Mart Stormwater Grant Program.
A $99,941 grant will help UNT build on the success of an existing summer camp, X-Stream Adventure, in which children explore the Trinity River and learn about the reservoir's importance to Texas through fun, hands-on activities. Read more
Internationally known researcher Yong X. Tao has joined the College of Engineering as chair of the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, director of the PACCAR Technology Institute and a professor of engineering.
Tao has more than 20 years of research and 17 years of teaching and administrative experience, with expertise in thermal sciences, refrigeration system performance, alternative energy, multiscale computational engineering and renewable energy applications in buildings. Tao has received more than $12.2 million in research funding for multidisciplinary teamwork projects from the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Air Force, Department of Energy and various industries. Read more
DENTON (UNT), Texas — A renowned expert in optical physics has joined the University of North Texas this fall. Dr. Yuankun Lin will be a member of UNT's Bio/Nano Photonics Cluster, a multidisciplinary collaboration of professors who explore how light can be used in extremely small dimensions to develop new materials and devices with applications in medicine, telecommunications, energy and numerous other fields. Lin will have a joint appointment in physics and electrical engineering as an associate professor. Read more
August, 2010 — Dr. Feifei Pan, assistant professor of geography at the University of North Texas, has been selected to receive one of 32 nationally competitive Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards from Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Pan was one of four faculty members from Texas colleges and universities selected as winners, who were chosen from 114 applicants. He is the seventh UNT faculty member to win a Powe award since 2005. Read more
August, 2010 — Maurice Leatherbury, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of North Texas, has announced he will retire Oct. 1.
"We are grateful for Maurice's years of committed service in managing the university's Computing Information and Technology Center," said President V. Lane Rawlins. "He is a recognized leader statewide and his stewardship in developing and implementing UNT's information systems are deeply appreciated. Read more
August, 2010 — One of the world's foremost computational chemists is joining the University of North Texas this fall as a distinguished university research professor.
The arrival of Dr. Jan Martin — who was most recently the Baroness Thatcher Professor of Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute in Israel — will further bolster UNT's strength in computational chemistry. Read more
July, 2010 - After being accepted into the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program this past semester, Daniel McGee, a junior at Xavier University in New Orleans, knew he needed to find a summer job that was more than waiting tables, scanning and bagging groceries or helping shoppers with purchases.
The Research Experience for Undergraduates offered by the University of North Texas Department of Political Science turned out to be the perfect fit for McGee. He was one of eight university students to receive a $4,000 stipend and free room and board to live on the UNT campus and complete a research project with a professor in UNT’s Peace Studies Program. The students also have UNT doctoral students as mentors. Read more
July, 2010 — A University of North Texas doctoral student and a recent graduate will receive awards at the 2010 American Psychological Association Convention Aug. 12-15.
William Q. Hua, a doctoral student in clinical health psychology and behavioral medicine, has been selected by the APA's Board of Professional Affairs and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students to receive this year's APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.
The award is given each year to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding practice and application of psychology. To qualify for the award, a student must demonstrate exemplary performance in working with an underserved population in an applied setting or show that he or she has developed an innovative method for delivering health services to an underserved population. Read more
July, 2010 — Dr. Narendra B. Dahotre, who is internationally known for his work on fundamentals and applications of laser surface engineering of metals, ceramics, polymers and composites, has been named a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), a professional organization that promotes manufacturing knowledge and education.
Dr. Dahotre, chair of the College of Engineering's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is being honored for his pioneering contributions to understanding and engineering of laser-materials interactions along with implementation of high power lasers for materials processing and surface engineering. Read more
Dr. Saraju Mohanty, associate professor of computer science and engineering at UNT and director of UNT's Nanosystem Design Laboratory (NSDL), is working to extend the charge on batteries with the help of nanoscale device and system modeling and CAD tools.
In the world of consumer electronics, everything depends on your power supply. And when you're talking about portable devices including laptops, cell phones, mp3 players and the like, that power supply is your battery.
What if your devices only needed recharging once or twice a week? Imagine how much electricity and how many resources could be saved. Read moreJune, 2010 — The II-VI Foundation has awarded a gift in the amount of $100,000 to UNT's Laboratory of Advanced Polymers & Optimized Materials (LAPOM), Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Department of Physics. The gift will go toward a project titled "Improvement of Effectiveness of Electric Power Generation."
Under the project, the UNT team will research changes to the chemistry of thermoelectric materials, as well as the processing and application of high-temperature materials. UNT will be in a research cluster that includes University of Idaho and Caltech. The research UNT will conduct could result in waste heat recovery innovations for automobiles as well as other applications. Read more
June, 2010 — When writing proposals to NASA, do your homework; find out what the agency wants in a proposal and how the agency wants it presented. This was the message stressed during a recent presentation by Steven Smith, Program Manager, Advanced Information Systems Technology, NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Smith is among the various visiting speakers the College has hosted as it strives to help students and faculty in their professional development. The College also recently hosted a Federal Funding Workshop to discuss funding opportunities with other agencies including the Departments of Defense and Energy.
"It is important to bring visiting officials from agencies such as NASA who share their knowledge and insights, which helps our faculty further develop as researchers," Dean of Engineering Costas Tsatsoulis said. Read more
June 25, 2010 — DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Anthony Tran of Arlington, a radio, television and film graduate student at the University of North Texas, has received a U.S. Student Fulbright Grant to conduct research on Vietnamese film in Hanoi during the 2010-11 academic year. He is the son of Loc Tran and Hong Phuc Tran of Arlington and a 2004 graduate of Bowie High School. Read more
June 21, 2010 — NASA needs new photos of the surface of Mars, so it sends a request to a group of robots stationed on the planet. The robots communicate with each other to select and execute the best strategy to accomplish the task. Read more
June 18, 2010 — Department of Library and Information Sciences will begin a three-year project addressing the roles of small rural libraries in Texas as community resources and gathering places. Read more
Warren Burggren, professor of biological sciences and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences who will become provost July 1, and Britt Holbrook, assistant professor of philosophy and religious studies and assistant director of UNT’s Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity, are quoted in an article for Nature. They discuss the implications of grant agency criterion that researchers must demonstrate how their work impacts broader audiences. Read the story
June 10, 2010 — A biomedical company and an alternative energy company have opened offices at the University of North Texas Discovery Park, creating public-private partnerships that will lead to groundbreaking new technologies and provide a boost to the region's economy and technology sector.
The two start-up companies — MedAutomate Diagnostics and Solar Logic -- are collaborating with UNT professors and students to bring about innovations in medicine and energy.
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June 8, 2010 — Warren W. Burggren has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Texas effective July 1, 2010. Burggren has served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNT for the past 12 years. Burggren's appointment will continue until a long-term UNT president is appointed and the new president concludes a process to appoint a provost. Read more
May 28, 2010 — Three University of North Texas faculty members have been named faculty fellows of UNT’s Institute for the Advancement of the Arts for the 2010-11 academic year, giving them time and resources to pursue their creative endeavors.
David Bithell, assistant professor in the College of Music; Bruce Bond, Regents Professor in the Department of English; and Lesli Robertson, lecturer in the College of Visual Arts and Design, will be granted release from their other faculty duties during Fall 2010 to work on their projects full time.
“These three faculty members will have more uninterrupted time to devote to their art,” said Dr. Wendy K. Wilkins, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “They will return to the classroom energized and rejuvenated. And the public will get a chance to see their new works.” Read more
May 24, 2010 — The University of North Texas plans to expand research opportunities to more undergraduates and help ensure a successful transition for transfer students with support from a new $1.3 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
UNT was among 50 universities nationwide awarded $70 million from the HHMI in an effort to strengthen science education. The schools will use the grants — which range from $800,000 to $2 million — to develop creative, research-based courses and curriculum, to give students experience working in science laboratories and to improve science education from elementary school through college. Learn how UNT will apply this grant
May 18, 2010 — Travel and tourism is the second-largest services export industry in the U.S., with the industry being one of the nation’s largest employers. Sustainable tourism — tourism development that strives to meet the needs of the present tourism market without compromising the resources of future generations — is a tourism specialty that balances environmental, economic and socio-cultural benefits and concerns.
A new master of science degree in the University of North Texas School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management will educate students for management and leadership positions in this specialty as UNT’s first joint international graduate degree. The degree is the first of its kind in the U.S., offering students an interdisciplinary perspective on sustainability and tourism with one year of study at UNT and one year of study in Costa Rica. Read more
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UNT School of Merchandising and Hospitality
May 17, 2010 — A doctoral student in chemistry at the University of North Texas is among the 500 students from around the world selected to attend a meeting of Nobel Laureates this summer in Germany.
Chris Dewberry, a fourth-year doctoral student from Flower Mound, Texas will attend the 65th annual meeting of Nobel Laureates June 26-July 3 (Saturday-Saturday). Top students and young researchers from around the world apply to attend the meetings and lectures, and a committee decides who will attend based on recommendations from professors and universities. Read more
May 13, 2010 — A student at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas will compete for a prestigious spot on the USA Biology Olympiad team this June. Shulin Ye, 16, of Lewisville, is one of 20 finalists selected based on scores from an open and semifinals exam to attend the USA Biology Olympiad national finals. Nearly 11,000 students from across the country registered for the open exam this year. Read more
May 10, 2010 — A student at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas won a $100,000 scholarship for his groundbreaking research on cancer treatments.
Sahil Khetpal, 17, of Plano, was one of 10 students nationwide and the only Texas student to win the Proton Energy Scholarship at the recent NHA Hydrogen Conference and Expo in California. Read more
April 12, 2010 — PhysOrg.com - When Dominique Toran-Allerand started studying the effects of estrogen in the brain some 40 years ago, her research was considered so unconventional as to be unbelievable.
Today, the estrogen-brain connection is an accepted part of neuroscience, and Toran-Allerand's work is considered groundbreaking.
She is currently working on an NIH-supported project grant with colleagues at the University of North Texas. Read more
April 12, 2010 — Dr. D. Jack Davis, a professor of art and former dean at UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design, will receive the Distinguished Service Within the Profession Award from the National Art Education Association. Read more
April 12, 2010 — Marsha Sowell, a senior political science major, will receive a stipend of $30,000 each year for three years and a cost of education allowance each year to pursue a research focused graduate degree. Read more
April 6, 2010 — Two University of North Texas political scientists are researching the links between climate change and political instability in Africa. The research of Drs. Cullen Hendrix and Idean Salehyan, both assistant professors of political science at UNT, is being funded with a $50,000 grant that is part of a $7.6 million Department of Defense grant awarded to the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. The center’s program on Climate Change and African Political Stability, or CCAPS, will generate basic research and provide practical guidance to high-level policymakers in the U.S. government on the link between climate change vulnerability and political risk in Africa. Read more
April 2, 2010 — Denton Record Chronicle - The University of North Texas submitted a 10-year strategic research plan Thursday to state officials, which could bring an estimated 1,000 new jobs to the Denton area for research faculty, staff and doctoral students. Read more
Additional news: Dallas News
April 1, 2010 — Three students at the University of North Texas were named 2010 Barry M. Goldwater scholars, more than any other public university in Texas, for groundbreaking research with wide-ranging applications in medicine and technology. Read more
Kristi Nelson, NBCDFW.com
March 30, 2010 — Years of practice and performance can give musicians serious injuries. Now, UNT researchers are looking for solutions in a high-tech way. View the video
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. & DENTON, Texas, Mar 25, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, and the University of North Texas (UNT) today announced the formation of a new research center focused on the fundamental understanding of advanced plasma processes and insulators used in manufacturing state-of-the-art semiconductor chips. Read more
Additional news: Nanotechnology
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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 2, 2010 — UNT is one of the 50 best undergraduate institutions in the United States and Canada to study game design, according to the Princeton Review, which is known for its annual college "bests" lists. Read more
March 1, 2010 — European officials have turned to Duane Huggett, an assistant professor of biology at UNT, to develop more efficient screening process for potentially hazardous chemicals. Read more
March 1, 2010 — The University of North Texas College of Music and Dr. Kris Chesky, director of UNT's Texas Center for Music and Medicine, have earned the 2010 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award in the Services sector from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). Read more
Feb. 24, 2010 — "River and Cultures" will bring scientists, philosophers, artists, policy makers, educators and others together to learn about and discuss crucial water issues.
What: "River and Cultures" -- The WaterWays conference at the University of
North Texas, which brings scients, philosophers, artists, policy makers, educators
and others together to learn about and discuss crucial water issues. Texas' Trinity
River is the focus of WaterWays 2010.
When: March 3-4 (Wednesday and Thursday)
Where: UNT's Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building, located on the northwest corner of Avenue C and West Mulberry Street. (1704 W. Mulberry St.)
Cost: Free
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Feb. 16, 2010 — As big engineering fixes go, "clean coal" has proved an elusive concept. Carbon capture projects remain experimental, expensive and energy intensive. But working with some of the tiniest things in nature, scientists are engineering proteins found in living things to trap carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants. Read more
Feb. 8, 2010 — Researchers at the University of North Texas have found that a technique long used to develop new pharmaceuticals could be used in the battle against climate change. Read more
Feb. 4, 2010 — Memorandums of understanding were signed in January between UNT and two Indian institutes, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. The agreements will foster graduate, post-doctoral and faculty research exchange programs and joint research activities. Read more
Feb. 1, 2010 — Jung Hwan Oh, an assistant professor in computer science and engineering at the University of North Texas, is developing software to improve colonoscopies and create important quality controls for the procedure. Read more
Feb. 1, 2010 — A new laboratory in the University of North Texas' College of Information will determine technology products and tools that will enhance the math, reading and social skills of children with ASDs in kindergarten through sixth grade. The Technology and Applied Research in Autism Laboratory, or TARA, will have its grand opening and open house Feb. 13 (Saturday) from 9 to 11 a.m. The laboratory is located in Room G186 at UNT's Discovery Park campus, which is at 3940 North Elm St. in Denton. Read more
Jan. 31, 2010 — The CSE Programming Team competed at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in Harbin, China from Feb. 1-6, 2010. The programming team is pictured (L-R) Robert Mitchell-Burke, James Pascoe and Daniel Hooper. CSE doctoral student Michael Mohler is the team’s coach. Dr. Ryan Garlick is the Faculty Advisor and accompanied the team to China.
The team is featured in this front page article on Feb. 1, 2010, and in this editorial on Feb. 2, 2010.
Jan. 28, 2010 — Two students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas were named finalists in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search for their groundbreaking research developing a biocompatible material for protein drug delivery and predicting the existence of new rare gas molecules. Peter Hu, 18, and Katheryn Shi, 16, are two of 40 national finalists who will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to compete for $630,000 in scholarships. The top winner will receive $100,000 from the Intel Foundation. Read more
Jan. 13, 2010 — A renowned researcher with close to 30 years of experience in laser science and engineering will take the helm of the University of North Texas' Department of Materials Science and Engineering this year. Dr. Narendra B. Dahotre comes from the University of Tennessee, where he was a professor in materials science and engineering and director of the Laboratory for Laser Material Synthesis and Fabrication. He also had a joint faculty appointment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Read more
Jan. 12, 2010 —Katie Schniebs, a junior at the University of North Texas and electrical engineer major, has received a $40,000 scholarship from NASA's Aeronautics Scholarship Program. The Springtown student will receive two years of financial support and a summer internship at a NASA research center. Read more
Jan. 11, 2010 — Rada Mihalcea will be honored on Jan.13 for her research on understanding the meaning of text and her exemplary commitments to education and community service. Read more
Dec. 17, 2009 — An engineering researcher at the University of North Texas has helped develop a new and more effective way to obtain 3D images, which could have significant applications in physical and life sciences. Read more
Dec. 7, 2009 — Dr. Nada Shabout, associate professor of art history at the University of North Texas, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Service to create a publicly accessible archive of missing modern Iraqi art. Read more
Sept. 3, 2009 — According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 4 million school-age children have at least one disability, yet many educators are inadequately prepared to teach children with disabilities. Read more
Aug. 17, 2009 — Wes Borden, the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Texas, was named to the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Read more
July 10, 2009 — UNT’s efforts to bolster its research capacity was featured in this recent story in The Chronicle of Higher Education. In the article, UNT President Gretchen M. Bataille talks about the challenges of raising money in a tough economy. Read more
June 17, 2009 — Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a bill that would allow universities to receive state funding to match dollars received from federal and private sources rather than to individually compete for research funding. President Gretchen M. Bataille, left in photo, and UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson attended the Dallas signing ceremony, along with officials from other schools that aspire to be national research, or Tier 1, universities. Legislation was introduced by Dallas Rep. Dan Branch and Laredo Sen. Judith Zaffirini during the 81st Texas Legislature. The law is effective Sept. 1. Texas voters in November will be asked to approve use of $425 million in existing higher education funds for the research effort. Read more
May 26, 2009 — Bioactive glasses can help restore and repair bones, act as coatings for knee and hip replacements and assist in drug delivery. But researchers still don't know much about the complex structure of the materials, which limits their potential. Read more
As seen on The 33 News (Aired May 20, 2009)
On Monday, one of the pianists scheduled to compete in the Van Cliburn Piano competition had to withdraw from the competition because of a hand injury. Right now students at the University of North Texas are researching of what causes these piano-related injuries, and they are doing it with the help of cutting edge technology. 31-year-old Anastasia Markina has played the piano since she was 4. The Russian-born Doctoral candidate at UNT remembers her early lessons.
"My teacher was always pushing me to be the best. That's the whole point of Russian training you don't stop. You just keep going through pain." Read more
May 4, 2009 —
In 2000, Texas set a bold goal for itself: Enroll 630,000 more students in colleges and universities by 2015.
The University of North Texas took on the “Closing the Gaps” challenge and now ranks first in the state for the increased number of degrees awarded — and second in the state for increased total enrollment. We earned a 2008 Texas Higher Education Star Award for our success in getting more students into college and out into the workforce with degrees in hand. Read more
May 1, 2009 — Afshan Kamrudin, a senior psychology major at the University of North Texas, has a received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to prepare for a career as a researcher in behavioral health.
The Graduate Research Fellowships are given to students who plan to earn research-focused master's and doctoral degrees in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Each student receives a three-year stipend of $30,000, plus $10,500 each year as a cost of education allowance. The students may also receive supplements for travel and computing. Read more.
Spring 2009 Research Magazine — Next to stacks of papers and old science journals, a sleek, black video phone rests in the corner of Ram Dantu's office. Like a growing number of phones, this one connects callers through the Internet rather than by traditional wire lines.
"In the next five years, the way we communicate will change greatly," says Dantu, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of North Texas. "This is the phone of the future."Read more.
March 10, 2009 — Technology integration to focus on military, commercial superiority
From the intricacies of modern warfare to the time-sensitive demands of a commercial delivery service, technology integration answers the call for "faster, better, smarter." Three North Texas universities, including the University of North Texas, are part of a newly designated National Science Foundation research group charged with developing the next generation of "net-centric" solutions that will link people and resources.
Academic partners in the consortium are Southern Methodist University, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The center's industry partners are Boeing, Cisco, Codekko Software, EDS/HP, Fujitsu, GlobeRanger, Hall Financial Group, Lockheed-Martin Aero, Raytheon, Texas Instruments and T-System. Read more
March 5, 2009 — Tier One universities, generally defined as those that commit more than $100 million to research annually, are integral to keeping the state in the forefront of research as the global competition stiffens for talent, ideas and economic development. The presidents of the three largest public universities in the area the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas met with the North Texas Commissions board of directors in February to make a case for additional Tier One-class universities in the area.
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January 5, 2009 — Researchers at the University of North Texas are rethinking a 130-year-old standby of modern technology: the light bulb. Professors from chemistry and materials science and engineering are pioneering innovative research in the field of organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, an emerging technology that scientists say will revolutionize lighting. Read more
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