University of Texas Arlington

Nearly $1.47 million in federal grants will help qualified graduate students at The University of Texas at Arlington earn their doctoral degrees in areas of national need.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, or GAANN, grants of $533,064 to the UT Arlington College of Science’s Mathematics Department and the College of Engineering’s Computer Science & Engineering Department. The College of Engineering’s Bioengineering Department also received a $399,798 GAANN grant.

Each grant can potentially benefit 20 students during the next three years.

Principal investigators include: Math Professor Tuncay Aktosun, Bioengineering Chair and Professor Khosrow Behbehani and Gergely Zaruba, associate professor of computer science & engineering.

Philip Cohen, graduate school dean and co-principal investigator on the grants, said the program will allow UT Arlington to recruit more doctoral students in these areas of high national demand.

“The grants also contribute to our efforts to improve doctoral education,” Cohen said.

College of Engineering Dean J.-P. Bardet said there is a growing interest in computer science and bioengineering across the nation.

“Recruiting more graduate students in those areas is beneficial for research that will transform the healthcare of present and future generations,” he said.

All the departments are working in partnership with the Office of Graduate Studies to develop common recruiting and retention activities for the GAANN fellows that are designed to address the unique needs of underrepresented and first-generation college students.

College of Science Dean Pamela Jansma said the grants are important because mathematics is an integral link to so many other studies.

“Assuring more doctoral students in math contributes to success in many other disciplines, as well as the overall University,” Jansma said.

Call Alisa Johnson in the Office of Graduate Studies at 817-272-2708 for more information.

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The University of Texas at Arlington is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer.