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Tier One
Rising Rapidly Toward National Research Prominence
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The best are never satisfied with their success, but instead are eager to achieve loftier goals. UT Arlington is committed to becoming one of America’s next great research institutions. Buoyed by the unprecedented accomplishments of first-rate faculty and students, we have experienced remarkable growth in size, scope, and stature. Our research activity continues to soar, along with the number of doctoral degrees awarded. Enrollment is at an all-time high, as are the academic credentials of our freshmen. As we broaden our Tier One progress, we are focused on reaching even greater heights.

Michael Roner, biology associate professor; Samir Iqbal, electrical engineering assistant professor
At The Nexus of Research Collaboration

UT Arlington’s commitment to becoming a major national research institution is embodied in the state-of-the-art Engineering Research Building. The new $126 million, 234,000-square-foot facility supports science and engineering collaboration like that of electrical engineering Assistant Professor Samir Iqbal, right, and biology Associate Professor Michael Roner. They’re partnering on a project that uses nanotechnology to detect viruses. Now, instead of carrying delicate samples across campus from one lab to another, the team can work in Dr. Roner’s lab in the new building. “It certainly will help with that aspect of our research,” he says. The researchers say the military and health care sectors could benefit from their discoveries. “We’re trying to determine fast and reliably, without false alarms, what types of viruses are present in food or the air,” Dr. Iqbal says. Roner and Iqbal agree that having College of Science and College of Engineering professors and graduate students sharing space helps immensely in furthering ideas and research. The Engineering Research Building primarily houses computer science engineering and bioengineering, but parts of biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, genomics, and other engineering departments also call the new structure home.
nursing students

EXPLORATION UNLIMITED

UT Arlington continues to reach new milestones in research activity. In 2009-10 total research expenditures grew to $63.6 million, and restricted research expenditures reached $42.9 million. This rising arc demonstrates a clear commitment to pursuing creative solutions to real-world problems. Researchers are at the forefront of discovery in the bioengineering, health, and medical fields—areas critical to ensuring a stronger society. With a focus on entrepreneurship and commercialization, UT Arlington ranks among the state’s leaders in for-profit, industry-sponsored research.

students are excited by chemistry lab results

WITH QUANTITY COMES QUALITY

UT Arlington is growing in both size and quality. Last fall the University enrolled a record 32,975 students, making it the fastest growing of Texas’ seven emerging research institutions, the second-largest institution in the UT System, and the fifth-largest in the state. Academic standards are increasing, too. Twenty-nine percent of first-time, full-time freshmen ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class—up from 25 percent the previous year. And 73 percent of last year’s class returned for their sophomore year, a key indicator of academic success.

Professor Purnendu Dasgupta

HIGH-IMPACT DISCOVERIES

Pioneering faculty members like chemistry Professor Purnendu “Sandy” Dasgupta are boosting UT Arlington’s ascent toward becoming a nationally recognized research institution. Last year the National Science Foundation designated Dr. Dasgupta’s work in arsenic detection as “high impact”—one of fewer than 30 chemistry research projects so recognized. He used NSF funds to develop an analyzer for arsenic in drinking water that could help millions of people at risk of exposure to naturally occurring arsenic contamination in South and East Asia.

Mathematics Ph.D. candidate Antonio Lopez does math calculations

DEGREES OF DISTINCTION

World-class doctoral and master’s degree programs are attracting a growing number of high-quality graduate students to UT Arlington. Mathematics Ph.D. candidate Antonio Lopez, who received a highly competitive U.S. Department of Education fellowship, chose UT Arlington for the quality of its faculty and the opportunity to apply his research to the real world. In 2009-10 the University awarded 12 percent more Ph.D.s than the previous year. And with doctoral enrollment exceeding 1,000 students, that number is expected to continue to climb.