UT Dallas News Center is an official news voice of The University of Texas at Dallas. http://www.utdallas.edu/news/ http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/2/10-15691_Sister-Institutions-Make-Plans-to-Collaborate-on-R_article-wide.html More than 500 miles separate UT Dallas and UT Pan American, but the two schools hope to effectively narrow that distance after research faculty from both met to discuss working together on science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects. The STEM Faculty Research Symposium gathered faculty from the sister institutions in hopes of establishing a program that promotes long-term collaboration in their fields. Disciplines represented at the symposium included biology, electrical engineering, physics, geosciences, chemistry, material science, mathematics and mechanical engineering. ]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/2/2-15461_Surgeon-Started-Career-Journey-in-UT-Dallas-Class-_article-wide.html In her office, just a block from San Francisco's famed Union Square, plastic surgeon Dr. Usha Rajagopal BS'82 is at the pinnacle of a career that began with a cell biology class at UT Dallas. "This was an incredibly demanding class," she explained. "It was taught by Dr. Jost Kemper, who was equally demanding but in a highly encouraging way. I learned so much in that class, about cell biology and also about myself." ]]> Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/1/23-15171_Largest-Ever-Cohort-Named-to-Fall-Deans-List_article.html For the fall 2011 semester, 792 undergraduate students made the dean's list at UT Dallas. It is the single largest group named to the list in the University's history, up by more than 100 students over fall 2010 and up 27 percent since fall 2007. Dr. Sheila Amin Gutierrez de Pineres, dean of Undergraduate Education at the University said the increase is directly tied to the University's enrollment growth. ]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/1/19-14411_Companys-Investment-Benefits-Geosciences-Students_article-wide.html A $600,000 gift from Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources will allow the Department of Geosciences in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics to send more UT Dallas students to outdoor laboratories. Pioneer's contribution will elevate several aspects of the geosciences program, which immerses students in the study of the composition, structure and history of the Earth and the universe. ]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/1/13-15021_Profs-Theory-Could-Improve-Shelf-Life-of-Electroni_article.html Research by UT Dallas engineers could lead to more efficient cooling of electronics, which would pave the way for quieter and longer-lasting computers, cell phones and other devices. Much of modern technology uses silicon as semiconductor material. But research recently published in the journal Nature Materials shows that graphene conducts heat about 20 times faster than silicon. ]]> Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/1/12-14981_Tiny-Quantum-Dots-Hold-Promise-in-Profs-Research_article.html UT Dallas researchers are making strides in understanding the workings of quantum dots - nanosized particles that have immense potential in several industry applications. Quantum dots could be used in a variety of ways ranging from illuminating the human body in high-tech medical imaging to increasing the efficiency of energy sources. ]]> Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/12/19-14811_UT-Dallas-Family-Friends-Celebrate-Newest-Grads_article.html Family and friends worked to contain their excitement as they watched UT Dallas' newest graduates walk across a stage decorated with poinsettias. A weekend of commencement ceremonies honored more than 1,800 UT Dallas students, the largest fall graduating class to date. ]]> Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/12/7-14561_NanoExplorers-Program-for-High-Schoolers-Lauded-wi_article-wide.html A UT Dallas program aimed at igniting interest in the sciences among high school students earned a Tech Titan award from the Metroplex Technology Business Council. The George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers program at UT Dallas was awarded the annual Tech Titan of the Future award from the council. Dr. Ray Baughman, director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTechnology Institute at the University, founded the NanoExplorers program in 2002 as a way to bring in promising pre-collegiate students to conduct lab work during the summer. ]]> Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/12/1-14441_Grant-Aids-Push-to-Train-Math-and-Science-Teachers_article.html UT Dallas' efforts to train and support top-notch science and math teachers in traditionally underserved areas has received a big boost. The Teacher Enhancement Academy in Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) provides tuition support of $480,000 for 30 educators currently teaching in high-needs schools who have committed to remaining with those schools an additional two years after completing their master's degrees. ]]> Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/11/22-14241_Thrill-of-Victory-and-Agony-of-Defeat-Robot-Style-_article.html UT Dallas hosted the Texas BEST Regional Robotics Championship over the weekend, with more than 3,000 people attending. More than 50 robots built by middle school and high school students were entered in the competition. ]]> Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/11/10-13951_Carbon-Nanotube-Muscles-Generate-Giant-Twist-for-N_article-wide.html New artificial muscles that twist like the trunk of an elephant, but provide a thousand times higher rotation per length, were announced on Oct. 13 for publication in Science magazine by a team of researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Wollongong in Australia, The University of British Columbia in Canada, and Hanyang University in Korea. ]]> Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/10/27-13641_Breakthrough-Holds-Promise-for-Hydrogens-Use-as-Fu_article-wide.html Imagine your car running on an abundant, environmentally friendly fuel generated from the surrounding atmosphere. Sounds like science fiction, but UT Dallas researchers recently published a paper in the journal Nature Materials detailing a breakthrough in understanding how such a fuel - in this case, hydrogen - can be stored in metals. ]]> Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/10/25-13601_Vanishing-Act-Creates-a-Stir-in-the-Nanotech-World_article.html Dr. Ali Aliev, a research scientist at UT Dallas, and his colleagues recently demonstrated that transparent carbon nanotube sheets, which can have the density of air and the specific strength of steel, can be used to make objects invisible. This invisibility for light oblique to the nanotube sheets is caused by the mirage effect, in which a thermally generated refractive index gradient bends light array from a hidden object. The paper was published in a recent issue of the journal Nanotechnology. ]]> Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/10/19-13491_Students-Join-UT-Southwestern-Researchers-in-Lab_article.html Joanne Thambuswamy carefully analyzed behavioral data and conducted diagnostic interviews of research subjects - heavy-duty responsibilities for the UT Dallas student. And although she's at a nascent point in her career goal of becoming a physician, she was selected along with 17 other UT Dallas students to partner with researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center as part of the Green Fellowship Program. She said her experiences with the program this past year have furthered her research experience exponentially. ]]> Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2011/9/29-13031_Atmospheric-Research-Team-Wins-NASA-Praise_article.html Rod Heelis and a group of scientists and faculty at UT Dallas have received a Group Achievement Award from NASA for their study of the Earth's upper atmosphere. The project, the Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation or CINDI, examined the role of ion-neutral interactions within small and large-scale electric fields. ]]> Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:00:00 -0500