University of Texas Arlington

Algae and the environment

The Dallas Morning News quoted James Grover, a UT Arlington professor of biology and director of environmental and earth sciences, in a story about a young inventor’s algae device, which may one day revolutionize air quality. Grover credited algae as an increasingly popular and cheap biofuel, but he questioned whether car mufflers could hold enough of it to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. He wonders also whether consumers would really want to add an algae swap to their oil change.

Using technology to nab bike thieves

UT Arlington campus police are going high tech to cut down on bicycle thefts on campus, KDFW/FOX 4 , NBCDFW.com, and CBSDFW.com reported. Police have started using bait bikes that will be tracked through GPS.

National Hazing Prevention Week

Two former UT Arlington and NFL players talked to students last night about the problem of hazing on college campuses, KXAS/NBC5 reported. The speech was part of a series of events planned at the University as part of National Hazing Prevention Week.

Professor wins NASA grant

The Houston Business Journal reported on the $1.2 million grant NASA awarded Purnendu “Sandy” Dasgupta, a UT Arlington chemistry professor, to study the composition of soil on Mars. Dasgupta’s ion chromatograph is durable, portable and sensitive enough that scientists believe it can answer the question of whether life could exist on the Red Planet. The report initially appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Alum named MacArthur Fellow

Roland Fryer, a 1998 UT Arlington graduate and Harvard University economist, has been named one of 22 new MacArthur Foundation Fellows, RollingOut.com reported. The annual awards are no-strings-attached grants of $500,000, which recipients may use to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.

Longtime educator remembered

James W. Callicutt, 83, who helped found UT Arlington’s graduate School of Social Work, died Thursday of natural causes, the Dallas Morning News reported. A memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. today at Moore Funeral Home in Arlington. Dr. Callicutt entered social work as an undergraduate student in his native Tennessee and continued to help others through his 40-year academic career as a dean and professor at the UT Arlington School of Social Work. He retired in 2008 and became a professor emeritus. “He was a humanitarian, and so what he did was to make life easier for others,” said his daughter Frances Carr of Denver. Memorials may be made to the scholarship fund at the UTA School of Social Work or to the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Architecture faculty, students recognized

The winners of Dallas¹ PARK(ing) Day competition, judged by people from Better Block, went to RE, one of four UT Arlington School of Architecture teams that participated, D Magazine, KXAS/NBC 5, KDAF/Channel 33 and the Dallas Observer reported. Wanda Dye, assistant professor in architecture, had her students compete as part of their classwork. PARK(ing) Day is an annual, worldwide event that invites citizens everywhere to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good. The winning team members are Adam Heisserer, Luna Misael, Danny Montalvo, Thomas Nguyen, Tenaj Pinder, Jonathan Ruggeberg, and T. Vo.