Tag Archives: award

Kim Knight

Dr. Kim Knight has been selected for the Inclusive Excellence and Intercultural Teaching Award to be presented at the 4th Annual UT Dallas Diversity Awards Gala hosted by the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement (ODCE).

The Inclusive Excellence and Intercultural Teaching Award honors the contributions of an individual who has supported diversity and inclusion at UT Dallas in the past academic year.

Each year the ODCE recognizes the contributions of UT Dallas faculty, staff, students, and community partners to advance the UT Dallas diversity mission, goals, and programs, with special awards during the annual Diversity Awards Gala. The Gala was established in 2009 to celebrate and highlight how diversity enables and empowers the UT Dallas community to reach the highest levels of excellence.

The School of Arts and Humanities has named ATEC Assistant Professor Todd Fechter the Victor Worsfold Teacher of the Year.

From left: Assistant Professor Todd Fechter, Dean Dennis Kratz and Professor Emeritus Victor Worsfold. Fechter was selected as the Victor Worsfold Teacher of the Year.

Fechter, who has experience working in television and film production, teaches courses in 3D computer animation in the school’s Arts and Technology (ATEC)program. He created the first online ATEC computer animation digital class archive, providing unlimited access to course materials and examples that allow for off-campus learning and review.

“Todd is an inspiring teacher, mentor and more. He has taken a leadership role in developing an animation program of the highest quality. His impact is already and quite literally visible in the superior work that our students are producing,” said Dr. Dennis M. Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

Fechter’s honor was part of the school’s Outstanding Faculty and Teaching Awards, which are presented yearly and are named for Professor Emeritus Victor Worsfold, who taught ethics and philosophy at UT Dallas from 1975 to 2001. Dr. Worsfold was present for the awards ceremony.

The Worsfold Teaching Assistant (TA) of the Year award went to LaToya Watkins, a PhD candidate in aesthetic studies.

Akin Babatunde and David Hanson were named Alumni of the Year. David Hanson received his PhD from UT Dallas in aesthetic studies and interactive arts and engineering. In 2003, he founded Hanson Robotics to pursue character robot research and applications.

Hanson creates androids – humanlike robots with intelligence. Through integrated research in cognitive artificial intelligence, bio-inspired mechanics, material science, sculpture and animation, expressive robotic faces and walking robot bodies, Hanson strives to bring robots to life. The walking, talking robots resulting from Hanson’s efforts have been recognized in various publications, including Wired and PC Magazine.

“David Hanson has helped revolutionize our notion of what a robot is and the possibilities of robotics in education. His robots with human faces are displayed around the world, adding luster to our aspiration of leadership at the intersection of arts and technology,” added Kratz.

Two nursing education research projects developed by the Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering (IIAE) at UT Dallas in collaboration with the UT Arlington College of Nursing have received national and state recognition this spring.

One project — “Can Game Play Teach Student Nurses How to Save Lives?” — has been named a 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate. This game-based simulation uses 3D infant patients in a synthetic environment to give undergraduate nursing students virtual clinical

One project — “Can Game Play Teach Student Nurses How to Save Lives?” — has been named a 2012 Computerworld Honors Laureate.  This game-based simulation uses 3D infant patients in a synthetic environment to give undergraduate nursing students virtual clinical practice opportunities.  The project was funded through a UT System Transforming Undergraduate Education grant. It will be recognized for its applications of information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change at the Computerworld Laureate Medal Ceremony and Gala Evening on June 4 in Washington, D.C.

A second research project, NursingAP.com, tied for first place as Best Demonstration Project at the “Innovations in Health Science Education” conference sponsored by the University of Texas Academy of Health Science Education. The recognition is voted on by attendees at the conference, which is sponsored by the six health science campuses within the UT System.

A project called “Can Game Play Teach Student Nurses How to Save Lives?" uses 3D infant patients in a synthetic environment.

NursingAP.com is a blended-learning website that incorporates interactive technology and virtual environments to assist graduate students seeking nurse practitioner degrees and certifications. The project started with neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) curriculum.   The project is funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.

NursingAP.com affords students opportunities to practice the knowledge acquired through lecture material through the use of interactive modules and a 3D virtual Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The components of the NNP curriculum are presented through lecture notes with embedded media, and a variety of other multimedia forms, including videos, interactive games, simulations and virtual equipment demonstrations.  Students can practice clinical skills in the virtual NICU, an immersive environment where 3D patients present medical conditions covered in lecture content.

The project gives undergraduate nursing students virtual clinical practice opportunities.

Both projects are research collaborations between Dr. Marjorie A. Zielke, in Arts and Technology assistant professor and the associate director of IIAE, and Dr. Judy LeFlore, professor at the UT Arlington College of Nursing.  “These continual awards reinforce the deep talent of our student developers,” Dr. Zielke said.  “I also think we need to give a great deal of credit to our strong collaboration with the UT Arlington College of Nursing.”

“I am particularly proud of the scope of the recognition we are receiving from international conferences to internal recognition by the UT System Health Science campuses,” Dr. Zielke continued.

At the Computerworld awards dinner, the UT System project will be presented with a medallion inscribed with the program’s mission statement, “A Search for New Heroes.”

“The Computerworld Honors program was especially competitive this year, as more than 500 IT initiatives were nominated for their innovation and benefit to society,” said Julia King, executive editor of events for Computerworld.

These new honors are just two of the several awards received by IIAE projects over the past two years.  The UT System project also received a first place award for Emerging and Innovative Technology and Methods at the 2011 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH). The simulation was used in a randomized, controlled study designed to compare the clinical application of undergraduate nursing students using a virtual clinical experience compared to students receiving the same pediatric respiratory content in traditional lecture format. Results of the study were published this spring in Simulation in Healthcare, the journal of the Society of Simulation in Healthcare.  Another project, The First Person Cultural Trainer (FPCT) won first place in the government category of the Serious Games Showcase at the Interservice/Interindustry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando in December 2011.  Earlier in 2011, FPCT earned first-place in the Innovations in DoD Gaming Competition at the 2011 Defense GameTech Users’ Conference also in Orlando.

Honor is Arts and Technology Research Project’s Third National Honor in 2 Years

For the third time in two years, the First Person Cultural Trainer (FPCT), a research project from the UT Dallas Arts and Technology(ATEC) program, has won a national award for serious gaming.

The First Person Cultural Trainer game designed by ATEC simulates the challenges a soldier might encounter on patrol in a village.

FPCT received the Best Game award in the Government Category of the 2011 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge. FPCT is sponsored by U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command G-2 Intelligence Support (TRADOC).  The Serious Games Showcase is part of the Interservice/Interindustry Training and Simulation Education Conference (I/ITSEC), and was held in Orlando, Fla., from November 28 through December 1.

Earlier in 2011, FPCT earned first place in the Innovations in DoD Gaming Competition at the GameTech Users’ Conference  in Orlando. In 2010, FPCT won the cross-function award from the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA).

FPCT is a four-level immersive game that allows Army leaders and other appropriate personnel to practice culturally correct ways of interacting with different populations around the world.  The game features a variety of innovations, like a branching conversation system and methods for displaying nonverbal communication and environmental perception. The program can also be ported to different game engines with minimal redevelopment.

The video game simulates conversations with people that a soldier might meet, in this case a village elder.

More than 50 games were entered in the I/ITSEC Serious Games contest, which had five categories – government, business, student, mobile and a special category, adaptive stance.  The work was reviewed by a panel of military, academic and industry gaming experts.  About 20,000 government, business, military and academic total registrants attend I/ITSEC every year. The conference is widely considered to be the largest and most competitive worldwide in modeling and simulation.

“This honor and the overall visibility that FPCT, UT Dallas and ATEC received at I/ITSEC this year is a real tribute to our sponsors at TRADOC, students,  faculty, project staff and administrators who have nurtured this project for going on four years,” said Dr. Marjorie Zielke, ATEC assistant professor.

Zielke is the associate director of the Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering (IIAE) and principal investigator of the FPCT project.  Other faculty co-investigators on the project include Dr. Frank Dufour, assistant professor and director of the ATEC PhD program; Dr. Gopal Gupta, professor and head of the UT Dallas computer science department; and Dr. Thomas Linehan, professor and director of ATEC and the IIAE.  More than 20 students,  staff and faculty worked on the project for this development phase. The project has employed many more undergraduate, masters and PhD student developers over its four-year life cycle.

The FPCT captures the sights and sounds of life in a specific deployment area.

As part of the award, the development team received a kiosk display area at the conference where live gameplay was demonstrated to the large conference delegation.  Key developers from ATEC serious games projects gave demonstrations throughout the entire conference.

The developers were able to show the game to key government and business entities involved in modeling and simulation, including a representative from the White House, who visited the Serious Games pavilion to learn about national and international research in serious games.

In addition to winning the award, Zielke, Dufour and ATEC  Research Manager Gary Hardee presented a paper titled  “Creating Micro-expressions and Nuanced Nonverbal Communication in Synthetic Cultural Characters and Environments,” which highlighted some of the new FPCT development recently completed in October.

Princeton Review Bases University Rankings on Survey of Academics in Field

The University of Texas at Dallas has been included in The Princeton Review list of the “Top Schools for Video Game Design Study for 2011,” based on a survey of administrators at 150 schools offering video game design programs or degrees.

UT Dallas made the list of top 10 graduate programs for its innovative Arts and Technology (ATEC) program.

The Princeton Review – in conjunction with GamePro magazine – started ranking video game design programs last year after recognizing a surge in the number of options available at schools. This marks the first year The Princeton Review ranked the top graduate programs for video game design.

“I am particularly pleased by this recognition of one aspect of our comprehensive program,” said Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. “In addition to designing games, we explore the philosophic and practical implications of games and all aspects of digital technology for human life and culture. We emphasize and plan to be an international leader in the development of ‘tough content’ games for education.”

Said Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review, “It has long been our mission to help students find – and get into – the schools best for them to pursue their interests and develop their talents.  For the burgeoning number of students aspiring to become game designers, we highly recommend The University of Texas at Dallas as one of the best and most innovative places to study and succeed in this exciting field.”

The complete list will be featured in the April issue of GamePromagazine.

Photographer Carlo Zinzi only recently graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with an MFA in Arts and Technology (ATEC), but he is already making his mark on the art world with his surreal take on Americana.

Carlos Zinzi's current series of photos revolves around floating and levitating fast food.

Zinzi, who imbues his work with a sense of humor and whimsy, was awarded the Juror’s Selection Award in Consumption, an exhibition that ran this month at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado. The winning image, Resort, depicts a hot dog, a recurring theme in Zinzi’s work, soaring through a garden.

“The current series I am working on, Thru, involves floating and levitating fast food,” Zinzi said. “It is an attempt to give hot dogs and hamburgers a second chance.”

“Seeking to subvert the status of the iconic hot dog, I wanted to re-translate the metaphors imbued in what we eat, like tiny edible narratives. We need more stories about food that don’t involve hospitals and doctors. I discovered that my attempt to create a violently whimsical commentary of American imagery was actually more of a process for me to deconstruct a cultural legacy,” Zinzi said.

Zinzi’s work was also accepted in the Houston Center for Photography’s 28th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, which is on view through Aug. 22.

Faculty at three University of Texas System institutions will be recognized as the inaugural recipients of the System’s Innovations in Education Awards, which laud individuals who produce cutting-edge approaches to teaching that have proven to be both creative and effective in classrooms and laboratories.

“These faculty members demonstrate extraordinary ability in devising novel approaches to teaching and learning – methods that explore alternative pedagogies which could provide a bold new framework for future curricula,” UT System Chancellor Mark G. Yudof said.

“We believe these innovative programs maximize our students’ engagement in their coursework, increase their potential for achievement and advance excellence at our institutions.”

In all, seven faculty members were recognized for their work on three projects. In one case, five professors collaborated on the program; in the other two, a single professor was recognized for the program. Each prize comes with a $5,000 award.

The awards, funded by the UT System Chancellor’s Council, will be presented at the group’s annual meeting in Austin on May 4.

“We recognize there are many successes throughout the UT System ranks and we hope these awards will help continue to foster a culture of innovation and healthy scholarship among our faculty members,” said John T. Stuart III of Dallas, chairman of the Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee.

“We hope these awards continue to increase awareness of our faculty’s outstanding work throughout the system.”

The faculty and their respective programs receiving recognition are:

• Alma Leal, Ed.D.; Olivia Rivas, Ed.D.; Selma Yznaga, Ph.D.; Manuel Zamarripa, Ph.D. and Ray Adomaitis, Ph.D., of UT Brownsville. These faculty members collaborated to create the Community and Counseling Clinic at UT Brownsville. Because many students in the program are fluent in Spanish and English, but have learned virtually all of the basic counseling and psychological constructs in English, the faculty developed a bilingual lab manual that provides translations to important terms regarding emotions and psychological disorders. It gives students the linguistic tools necessary to explain counseling ideas and concepts to future Spanish-speaking clients.

• Thomas E. Linehan, Ph.D., of UT Dallas. Linehan developed the Arts and Technology (ATEC) Program, the first comprehensive degree program in Texas that combines computer science and engineering with creative arts and the humanities. The program offers a unique approach in that it combines a variety of fields with modes of thinking and incorporates multiple forms of digital content. Students can mix interactive narration with game creation, visual elements and sound design and even animated and simulated worlds. The courses are intended to educate students to succeed in a media-rich, technologically sophisticated world. With more than 400 students, and in less than three years of existence, the program grew into the university’s largest undergraduate major in the School of Arts and Humanities.

• Manuel Berriozábal, Ph.D., of UT San Antonio. Berriozábal founded the Texas Prefreshman Engineering Program (TexPREP) at UT San Antonio. Begun in 1979, the program conducts no-cost summer math-based academic enrichment programs for high-achieving middle school and high school students who come from the city’s most underserved areas.  More than 25,000 students have completed at least one summer session in the program, and by 2005, 97 percent of its attendees were either in college or had graduated from college.