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/2009/11/19-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS New nanoscale materials and devices are required to replace the silicon transistor that's at the heart of today's semiconductors, but to build these new devices, researchers will have to be able to measure the thickness of layers consisting of only a few atoms, according to a UT Dallas researcher. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/11/17-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS We sat down for A Conversation With ... space scientist and professor of physics Dr. John Hoffman. His work has helped unpack the mysteries of our solar system. His instruments have flown on three Apollo missions to the moon, on the Pioneer Mission to Venus in 1978, and most recently on the landmark Phoenix Mission to Mars. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/11/13-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth received a federal grant to fund research examining brain performance enhancement in America's fighting men and women through the use of state-of-the-art virtual reality technologies. The center's study, incorporating experts from a variety of UT Dallas disciplines, will focus on maximizing brain resilience and repair in soldiers. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/11/12-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Dr. Margaret T. Owen, professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and director of the Center for Children and Families, has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to study preschoolers living in Dallas. Owen, along with research colleague Dr. Margaret O. Caughy of the University of Texas School of Public Health, received a $1.2 million, two-year grant. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/11/02-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Five companies and a local municipality are harnessing the brainpower and enthusiasm of engineering students in a course that challenges them with real-world projects. Dubbed UTDesign, the program invites local industry and other organizations to propose projects in electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering and computer engineering. Mon, 2 Nov 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/30-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS UT Dallas researchers have received a big funding boost for their work on technology to enhance communication among emergency response personnel, bringing total support for the project to $1.14 million. The wireless technology under development will enable emergency workers to jump from one communications protocol to another, allowing first responders to communicate over commercial, military and emergency channels using a single cell phone or other communications device. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/28-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management recognized Professor Gregory Dess, an internationally recognized business strategy expert, for a work on entrepreneurship that has been cited by hundreds of researchers since it first appeared in 1996. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/27-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $2.18 million grant to Dr. Susan Jerger to support her studies of speech processing and childhood hearing impairment. The grant marks the 25th consecutive year that Jerger's research has received funding. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/26-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The National Institute of Justice has awarded a grant to a UT Dallas criminologist to study the root causes of youth violence. Dr. Denise Paquette Boots and her colleague will use the grant to expand on their recent research into the role mental health plays in the problem. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/22-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Whatever else Texas and Massachusetts might share, an approach to national politics wouldn't seem to be one of them. That has not always been the case, however. As a new book by a UT Dallas political science professor details, Democrats from Texas and Massachusetts ruled one branch of Congress for half of the last century. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/21-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The UT Dallas Education Research Center has been asked to provide data and technical advice for a state study designed to determine the most effective uses of public education dollars. Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/20-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS A UT Dallas computer scientist argues that it's possible to establish data security for a large military logistics system even if the system's component parts come from many companies and aren't each individually secure. That's significant because of the importance of robust logistics systems and the frequency with which they're built by multiple contractors. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/19-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS As part of a relatively new program, postdoctoral fellows at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders are using the nationally recognized center's resources to pursue research projects and prepare for life as assistant professors. The center first offered the fellowship in 2008. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/14-003.php?WT.mc_id=RSS UT Dallas researchers are working closely with four high-tech companies that will receive $5 million in the latest round of nine awards from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund through the North Texas Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization. Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced the awards Oct. 8. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/13-003.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Regents authorized the creation Monday of a $10 million fund to enhance infrastructure at four University of Texas System institutions considered to be among the state's emerging research universities. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/13-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS UT Dallas researchers will join forces with their UT Arlington colleagues under a program to find solutions to critical health care problems. Proposals for the Collaborative Research Funding Program in Medical Technologies will be accepted until Nov. 6. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/09-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Researchers from UT Dallas, Clemson University and Yale University are using science on the nanoscale to address one of the most elusive challenges in physics - the discovery of room-temperature superconductivity. With that as the ultimate goal, the team is working to develop superconducting wires made from nanotubes that carry high currents at the temperature of liquid nitrogen, or higher. Fri, 9 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/09-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Developing desperately needed new energy technologies will require not only an increase in funds but also a rethinking of the way government programs are designed and managed, according to one of four articles about energy innovation in the Fall 2009 Issues in Science and Technology. Fri, 9 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/07-003.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The data that can be easily extracted from people's online social networking activities could be either a blessing or a curse, says a UT Dallas researcher. On the one hand, an analysis of people's interactions could improve public policy. But on the other hand, you could have your identity stolen and your savings account wiped out after sharing seemingly innocuous details about yourself. Wed, 7 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/05-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS A UT Dallas researcher envisions a time soon when plastic sheets of solar cells are inexpensively stamped out in factories and then affixed to cell phones, laptops and other power-hungry mobile devices. A new $330,000 grant from the National Science Foundation should help him come closer to realizing that vision. Mon, 5 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/10/02-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS A psychological research organization has honored a UT Dallas infant learning expert who studies how babies make sense of voices, speech, facial expressions and other communication signals. In recognition of her "sustained outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychological sciences," Dr. Melanie Spence was recently named a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Fri, 2 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/30-003.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Texas Instruments' announcement that it will start manufacturing analog chips at its cavernous Richardson semiconductor fabrication plant is outstanding news for analog researchers and students at UT Dallas, according to University President David E. Daniel and Kenneth K. O, director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence, or TxACE. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/30-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The Callier Center for Communication Disorders is accepting nominations for the 2010 Callier Prize in Communication Disorders. The biennial award recognizes individuals whose leadership has promoted scientific advances and significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders. Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/28-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Dozens of leading biomedical electronics experts convened at UT Dallas recently to discuss the future of the field and lay the groundwork for a nationwide call for proposals for up to $3 million in available research awards in the discipline. The upcoming call for proposals will be for the second round of research grants from the Texas Analog Center of Excellence, is based at UT Dallas. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/25-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Thirst and dehydration are common complaints for people with dysphagia - a disorder that affects a person's ability to swallow normally. But local health care providers recently learned about an option that helps patients with dysphagia quench their thirst and improve their quality of life. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/24-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Dr. Todd Sandler placed fifth in a new, worldwide ranking system for public economists that accounts for the quality of journals in which the economists publish and the number of times other authors cite their work. "Dr. Sandler's ranking in this study reflects the caliber of his research and the value his peers place on his work by citing it," said Dr. Brian Berry, dean of the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, where Dr. Sandler teaches and conducts research. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/23-001.php?WT.mc_id=RSS The cultural divide that has existed between the U.S. and Mexico is slowly diminishing, research by a UT Dallas professor finds. The study, co-authored by School of Management faculty member Dr. Habte Woldu, reveals that younger, more educated, professional Mexicans have started to demonstrate more cultural assimilation with the U.S. cultural value system. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/22-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Two UT Dallas researchers - Emily Touchstone and Suzanne Bonifert - launched a pilot program earlier this year to help identify screening measures that could be conducted quickly and used together to provide a thorough picture of an infant's development. The Infant Development Program was created to research, identify and prevent developmental disorders. Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/21-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS Former presidential science policy director Neal Lane will discuss "Science and Technology Policy in the Obama Era" on Wednesday, Sept. 23, in an event marking the 25th anniversary of Issues in Science and Technology. During the Clinton Administration, Lane served as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/09/18-002.php?WT.mc_id=RSS A society for operations management professionals has conferred top honors on Kathryn E. Stecke, lauding the School of Management professor for a long list of contributions to the field. Stecke was chosen to be a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), one of only 11 chosen this year out of the society's 10,000 members. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:00:00 CST