Four Added to External Advisory Council at UTD

RICHARDSON, Texas (Dec. 17, 2002) – The Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has expanded its external advisory council to 27 members with the addition of a leading academician, an expert in fiber optics, a prominent attorney and a pioneer in the field of biotechnology.

The council is tasked with helping university administrators plan the future of the university’s research, assisting in maintaining a sense of direction and focus in current research and interacting with UTD’s internal council to build a common view of research. Members also provide insight into trends, entrepreneurial activities, government liaison and global outreach.

“The leadership of UTD intends to build a world-class university. Some of the ingredients include global connections, stellar research, and, last but not least, sound advice from leaders who have strong ties to cutting-edge technologies,” said Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, vice president for research and graduate education at UTD. “I am confident that that these new members -- who include the first Asian to be the chancellor of a British university, the man who coined the phrase ‘bioinformatics,’ a researcher from Texas Instruments and the chair of a major law firm technology practice group -- all are going to have a strong impact on the research direction of The University of Texas at Dallas.”

The new members include:

• David K. Johnson, front plane product line manager of the fiber optics business unit of Texas Instruments, Inc. Johnson directs the definition, development and delivery of products for the high-speed communications markets. Products include high-speed serial links for datacom and telecom customers and components for optical modules, including CDRs (Clock and Data Recovery), laser drivers, post amps and TIAs (transimpedance amplifier, a type of signal processing electronics regularly used with photodiodes).

• Dr. Hwa A. Lim, who serves on the board of several Silicon Valley-companies, including AbMetrix, Inc., D’Trends, Inc., Ivy Holding Group and NanoProteomiX, Inc., and on the board of a Michigan-based company, GeneGo, Inc. He has written and edited 11 books, including a recent history of the bioinformatics field, Genetically Yours. He is best known for establishing and shaping the bioinformatics field, including coining the word “bioinformatics.”

• David L. McCombs, is the chair of Haynes and Boone’s Technology Practice Group and a member of the firm’s board of directors. He is the president of The TechLaw Group, an international network of U.S. and foreign law firms collectively having more than 5,000 lawyers. The organization meets on a regular basis to discuss a variety of national and international intellectual property and technology issues. Haynes and Boone is the fifth largest law firm headquartered in Texas.

• Dr. Fujia Yang, chancellor of Nottingham University of the United Kingdom. Yang is the former president of one of China's top universities, Fudan University of Shanghai. This year, he was been appointed a member of the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a committee co-chaired by Ted Turner and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia. He is a world-renowned atomic and nuclear physicist.