News About Students at UT Dallas

Students

News of UT Dallas students’ achievements, experiences and contributions to the university and community.

UT Dallas Ties for First Place at ‘World Series of Chess’

The UT Dallas chess team tied for first place at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, known as the “World Series of Chess.” From Dec. 27 to 30 at Princeton University, the team competed against one of the most competitive fields since the tournament’s inception in 1946.

Sales Program Students Finish 6th in International Competition

Students in the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s new sales program achieved a sixth-place finish in the recent International Collegiate Sales Competition. Seniors Brittany Nieh, Monica Raofpur and Prashi Singh traveled to Florida State University for the event, where they showed their direct-to-consumer sales prowess using a luxury men’s clothing brand. Competition rounds mimicked a typical sales process where a sales professional works with a consumer to establish needs, present a solution and close the deal.

UT Dallas Grads Celebrate Milestone With Families, Colleagues, Friends

When Dustin Tsai celebrated his new master’s degree on Friday, he shared his accomplishment with two UT Dallas alumni in his life – his brother and his boss. Both came to support him during one of six graduation ceremonies held at The University of Texas at Dallas last week. More than 1,900 freshly minted graduates participated in the largest fall graduation in the University’s 43-year history.

Event Honoring Veteran Grads is a UT Dallas First

UT Dallas marked a new event during its fall 2012 graduation festivities, specifically recognizing the academic achievements of its veteran students. The first Veteran Cord Ceremony honored 22 veterans. Each graduate was given a braided red, white and blue cord to wear during graduation ceremonies.

Growing in Popularity, Ring Ceremony Moves to Larger Pool

Smiles, tears and “whooshes” of joy abounded as nearly 100 students received their class rings at the UT Dallas ring ceremony December 6. Held on the eve of commencement, the ring ceremony has become a rite of passage for many Comets. Due to the tradition’s growing popularity, the ceremonial dunking of the ring was moved from the round trellis pool to a reflecting pool on the University mall.

4 Former Athletes, Photographer Inducted into Hall of Honor

Four former student-athletes and a volunteer photographer were added to the UT Dallas Athletic Hall of Honor during its annual Induction Ceremony. Former soccer players Theresa Buckles Walters and Zac Lindley, baseball standout Trent Elizondo and men's basketball star Martin Salinas were inducted into the honorary panel, along with Doug Fejer, a volunteer sports photographer. The induction event was held Nov. 14.

Grad is First Academic Bridge Alumna to Earn PhD

Rosalinda Valenzuela will become the first Academic Bridge student to earn a doctoral degree from UT Dallas this week. The program helps high-potential, first generation college students complete their college educations through advising, mentoring and tutoring.

Ideas to Improve Student Life Win Business Contest

This year, winning ideas were all about making life easier for students at the sixth Annual UT Dallas Business Idea Competition. Top proposals included simplifying on-campus parking and facilitating “crowd scholarships.” Team You-Park, winner of the Dallas Mavericks Entrepreneurship Award and first place prize in the undergraduate division, won with a model that helps students find the most convenient on-campus parking using a mobile phone app.

UT Dallas Expects to Set a Record for Fall Graduation

Gearing up for six graduation ceremonies this week, UT Dallas is anticipating its largest fall graduation cohort ever, with 1,911 students projected to complete their degrees. Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Hobson Wildenthal said the increase in graduates shows the University has furthered its mission of helping more top-tier students reach their ultimate academic goals.

Student Media Staffers Win National Awards for Work at UT Dallas

Three UT Dallas students have been nationally recognized recently for their writing, illustration and photography work in campus media. Staff members Cathryn Ploehn, Paul Dang and Akshay Harshe of the UTD Mercury student newspaper received their awards at the National College Media Convention for college journalists and advisers, held Nov. 1-4 in Chicago.

Students to Present Emerging Media and Communications Projects

Students from the Emerging Media and Communications (EMAC) program will present projects that examine how new media and network technologies are transforming the ways we connect with each other. The presentations are Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in CB3 1.306.

Residential Student Spirit, Leadership Captures Regional Awards

UT Dallas' residential life organization won several awards in a regional program that recognizes creativity and leadership among residential students across the country. UT Dallas students took home four of the five awards given out at the 2012 Southwest Affiliate of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls Conference.

ATEC Students Design Sound for New Perot Museum

When the Perot Museum of Nature and Science opens this weekend, the state-of-the-art facility will feature the work of Arts and Technology students from The University of Texas at Dallas. During the last year, a group of undergraduates created soundscapes for the museum, giving the students hands-on experience in the field of sound design.

Fall Arts Festival to Showcase UT Dallas Student Creativity

The School of Arts and Humanities has scheduled a number of arts events this week to celebrate student work, including a visual art exhibition, dance performance, poetry and fiction reading, and jazz and classical music concerts. More than 600 UT Dallas students from more than 40 courses will be sharing their art with the public as part of The Student Arts Festival, which stretches across two weeks.

Chess Team Aims for Third Straight Win at Pan-American

The UT Dallas chess team is gearing up for one of the season’s biggest tournaments: The Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, known as “The World Series of Chess.” The tournament is Dec. 27-30 at Princeton University. Since 2000, the chess team has won the championship or tied for first nine times. Last year, the team went undefeated to claim the top spot for a second-straight year.

Students Travel to Seoul to Analyze Policy and City Governance

UT Dallas graduate student Jeffrey Bryan recently earned an international award for a case study in transportation management. The paper analyzed the transportation system of the Seoul, South Korea Metropolitan Government and offered suggestions and recommendations for improvement.

Dallas Fed Chief Answers the Money Questions for Scholars

Richard Fisher, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, told 220 business leaders visiting campus that he was confident in the state’s recovery as well as the University’s quest to become a national research university.

Art Event to Celebrate Creative Scholars, Release of Journal

The School of Arts and Humanities will recognize students involved in the creative and performing arts this week with an art exhibit, dance performance and readings from the newest issue of a student-run literary journal. The event is Friday, Nov.9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Visual Arts Building. The School will present the second volume of Reunion: The Dallas Review, a literary journal that prints short fiction, drama, visual art, poetry, translation work, non-fiction and interviews.

CentralTrak to Explore New Media, Sonic Art and Game Design

CentralTrak, UT Dallas’ artists residency and gallery, has scheduled events this week that examine a range of subjects, including new media, sonic art and video game design. On Thursday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., CentralTrak will continue an artist talk series that includes regular meetings between artists, art enthusiasts, and art students and educators from across the Metroplex. The series, which is titled Next Topic, examines new media art.

Spooky Musical Theater Featured in 'Best of Broadway'

The School of Arts and Humanities will present a night of scary and spooky musical theater with Best of Broadway V: Creepy and Kooky. The free performance will run from Wednesday, Nov. 7 to Saturday Nov. 10. Each performance is at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. read more

Fall Figures Show Student Numbers, Academic Strength Growing

UT Dallas student enrollment continues to break records and the academic bar set by those new students has continued to rise, according to preliminary fall semester figures.

Caring Comets Fan Out Into the Community for Viva Volunteer

More than 400 UT Dallas students, faculty and staff gave up the chance to sleep in on a recent Saturday morning so they could invest a few hours as volunteers with 32 nonprofit agencies. Participants in Viva Volunteer, the largest single service day of the year at UT Dallas, fanned out across a 25-mile area to tackle community projects that ranged from cleanup work at a YMCA to walking dogs at area animal shelters to doing yard work for an elderly Richardson homeowner.

3 UT Dallas Teams Battling for Conference Titles This Weekend

All three primary UT Dallas fall sports teams will be competing for league championships this weekend in the American Southwest Conference championship tournaments. The women’s soccer team and volleyball team travel to Abilene on Thursday for three-day championship tournaments hosted by Hardin-Simmons University. The Comets men’s soccer team heads to Mississippi College in Clinton, Miss., for a Friday afternoon semi-final match after earning a quarterfinal bye.

Dancers in Residence Plan a Performance Spanning Cultures

The School of Arts and Humanities will presents its 8th annual dance residency this week. Honoring talent within the DFW Metroplex, this year’s residency features a diverse group of locally based artists. Choreographers with expertise in Folklorico, Indian and African dance will present their own professional pieces alongside new works that feature UT Dallas students. Residency artists include Eduardo Gutierrez of the Ollimpaxqui Ballet Company, Alpana Jacob of Indique, and Bridget Moore from Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Student Volunteer Provides Life-Giving Bone Marrow Donation

Biochemistry senior Tharun Paruchuri was volunteering at a bone marrow drive a year ago at UT Dallas when he decided to submit his own mouth-swab sample. Nine months later he was able to give a better life to a young girl with a genetic blood disorder.

Student Honored for Her Science and Tech Work With Women

Prerana Prakash, a graduate student in computer science, was recently presented a Student Community Leadership Award for her work in supporting and encouraging women in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. According to a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce, women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, but they hold less than 25 percent of the STEM jobs.

Exhibit to Feature Award-Winning Students, Alumni

The School of Arts and Humanities opens two art exhibits this week that will showcase work from current and former students. In the main gallery of the Visual Arts Building, artists with drastically different styles will team up to make collaborative installation pieces. The opening reception for the show, which is called Monstrous Coupling, is Friday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. Andy Amato PhD’11 is curating the exhibit.

Comet Cupboard Inspires Students to Help Peers in Need

The Office of Undergraduate Education is launching a new food pantry initiative dedicated to helping students in need. The Comet Cupboard aims to provide necessary food and personal care items to members of the UT Dallas community. Any currently enrolled UT Dallas student may use the service.

Students Learn How to Make Healthy, Tasty Food in Their Residence Halls

A recent cooking demonstration by the Student Wellness Center taught students to prepare easy, healthy snacks and meals in their rooms. It takes some creativity to create tasty food without a hot plate or a toaster, which are both prohibited in residence halls. But it can be done, students learned.

Graduate Student Wins Designer Wedding Dress, Trip to NYC

Nicole Buckreis’ wedding is still a year away, but the UT Dallas graduate student has already collected a big gift. She won a national contest that brought her a designer wedding gown and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City. The online contest was sponsored by “On the White Carpet,” a TV show airing Oct. 10 on NBC’s national digital network.

Event Introduces High School Students to Accounting World

High school junior Ashley Johnson had thought accounting was nothing more than crunching numbers. Her ideas have changed since attending the Accounting Career Awareness Program, a weeklong camp presented by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants and sponsored by the UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management.

Oozeball Gets Students, Faculty in the Mud for a Good Time

Staff and students got zany with the mud last week during Oozeball 2012: The Biggest Oozer. Oozeball is essentially volleyball played in the mud. The single-elimination tournament featured 27 teams vying for the Muddy Cup. The winning team, for the second time in a row, was the Whooshers, who beat second-place team Desi Boyz.

Students to Stage Classic ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’

UT Dallas students and alumni will be performing a classic work of 20th-century drama written by one of America's greatest playwrights, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The show will run Oct. 4-6 and 11-13 in the University Theatre. Written by Tennessee Williams, the play, which was won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1955, explores character, family and greed.

MBA Students Use Creative Fuel to Build Human-Powered Car

A team of full-time MBA students can add amateur race car driver to their résumés after recently competing in the Red Bull Soapbox Race at Austin Ranch in The Colony. Thousands of spectators turned out for the race that featured 40 teams, including the University’s very own “UTD MBAs,” a group of five graduate students at the Naveen Jindal School of Management. The team members were Vance Weintraub, Matt Ritter, Rafael Barbosa, Mallory Savoie and Brian Ragan

Literacy Program Helps At-Risk Children Succeed in School, Life

UT Dallas Jumpstart is part of a national effort that pairs at-risk pre-schoolers with adult volunteers in year-long relationships to build literacy as well as social and emotional skills. The organization is seeking volunteers to assist children in local daycare centers. read more

Alumni Take Their Creative Ideas to the Big Screen

A group of creative-minded current and former UT Dallas students has teamed up to produce a full-length feature film. Under the name of the production company Nowadays Orange, the group of Comets will be screening their film Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall.

Tapping Ritual Invites Students to Join Academic Honor Society

When Lye-Yeng Wong’s name was called out in biochemistry class on Tuesday as a candidate for a highly selective academic honor society, she was excited and honored to be recognized before her peers.Wong was among 572 juniors and seniors at UT Dallas who were invited this week to join Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Her invitation came through a tradition known as “tapping.” read more

Debate Team Heads Into New Season with Promising New Members

The UT Dallas debate team will open its 2012-2013 season this weekend at the Brian Johnson Memorial Tournament, hosted by the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Since its inception in 1996, the debate team has created a name for itself as a competitive national program with elimination round appearances at major tournaments.

Public Policy Grad Student Created New Dallas County Program

A public policy graduate student's journey has taken him from the Texas Panhandle to the big city, and now to a role as a grassroots organizer. He recently started a new program offered through Dallas County which educates the public about the District Attorney's Office. read more

MBA Student Wins Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship

South Africa native Jonathan Willson, a full-time MBA student in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas, was named the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. Scholarships go to outstanding graduate business students at 20 universities throughout the state that participate in foundation programs. Applicants are challenged to demonstrate their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. read more

Fall Sports Schedule Picks Up Speed This Weekend

The fall Comets sports season is in full swing this weekend with the volleyball team and women’s and men’s soccer squads hitting the road before returning to face opponents on campus later in the month. All three teams have been picked to finish the season at or near the top of their divisions in polls of American Southwest Conference East Division head coaches and sports information directors. read more

Community Garden on Campus Gets a Green Thumbs Up

The UT Dallas Community Garden gives students, faculty and staff the opportunity to grow their own fruits and vegetables and discover the benefits of natural gardening.

Senior Launch Serves Up Advice, Fun to BBS Students

Students from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences attending Senior Launch will depart with a better understanding of what to expect in their future careers. The annual event on Sept. 26 is open to all of the School’s seniors. Students will also get a chance to visit with Dean Bert Moore, as well as many other faculty members and their fellow seniors. read more

New Center Helps Veterans Succeed At UT Dallas

Young veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan pursuing degrees from UT Dallas often arrive on campus battle-weary and with markedly different needs than typical college students. A new Veteran Services Center will be dedicated on Sept. 14 as a one-stop shop of resources for veterans, from financial aid and benefits to academic success programs.

Students Pen Winning Entries in Writing Competition

Three UT Dallas students have penned winning entries in the annual Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers (TACWT) Student Competition. LaToya Watkins, a doctoral student in aesthetic studies, took first place in the Graduate Fiction category with her story, Peeling. “It’s a story about finding and accepting the sometimes difficult truth,” said Watkins, who wrote the winning piece for a workshop course taught by Dr. Clay Reynolds, director of creative writing at UT Dallas. read more

Chess Team Begins Season With New Designation

The UT Dallas chess team heads into its 2012-13 season with a new title bestowed by the United States Chess Federation: Chess College of the Year. The title came to the UT Dallas team based on its recent performances at the Pan-American Tournament last winter -- where the team went undefeated for the second consecutive year -- and after finishing second at the Final Four of Chess last spring.

Medical School Hopeful Inspired After Summer in Yale Program

Aaron Dotson is starting his sophomore year at UT Dallas, but this summer he took a big step toward his longer-range educational target – medical school. Dotson, who is majoring in neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, spent June and July as one of 80 undergraduates in Yale University School of Medicine’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program. read more

Newest Class of Scholars Expands Terry Program to 53

The 17 students that make up the newest class of Terry Scholars hail from all parts of Texas – from the small towns of Beeville and Merit to local areas of the Metroplex. The 12 women and five men represent the largest class of Terry Scholars to date and bring the number of students now in the University’s Terry Scholars Program to 53. All 17 have demonstrated leadership skills both inside the classroom and out. This year’s class includes one valedictorian and one salutatorian. Half of the students graduated in the top five percent of their high school class. read more

Communication Sciences Students Receive Stillman Awards

Two graduate students received the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders’ annual Robert D. Stillman, Ph.D. Award for Outstanding Achievement. Established in 2010, the Stillman Award recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional academic, clinical and leadership skills while participating in the Master of Science program. The award is named after the current program head and associate dean of UT Dallas’ School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

New Healthcare Degree to Prepare Students for Fast-Growing Field

Starting this fall, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies will offer a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Studies that is designed for pre-health students who want to pursue careers in fields such as medicine, pharmacy, optometry, physical therapy, and physician assisting. Dr. George Fair, dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, said it’s important to offer a wide range of majors for students as the university continues to grow. read more

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