UTA In The News — Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Tier One march
Texas cannot slow down now as more universities, including UTA, head toward Tier One status, an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News said. The column said that as a result of faculty and research achievements, The University of Texas at Arlington is approaching National Research University Fund eligibility. Dan Branch, former state representative and chair of the House Higher Education Committee, wrote the op-ed.
Computer efficiency
Jia Rao, an assistant professor in the UTA Computer Science and Engineering Department, has been awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Program, or CAREER, grant to redesign abstractions in virtualized systems aimed at improving efficiency, Scienmag and Phys.org reported.
Bioinspired 3D shapes
Kyungsuk Yum, a UTA assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, has been awarded a five-year, $500,000 National Science Foundation Early Career Development, or CAREER, grant to design and develop bioinspired 3D materials with programmed shapes and motions, Science and Technology Research News reported. The research could transform the way soft engineering systems or devices are designed and fabricated.
Regional coalition
A new regional coalition that aims to unite sustainability advocates across North Texas got the United Nations University stamp of approval last week, GreenSourceDFW.org reported. Meghna Tare, UTA chief sustainability officer, said the North Texas Regional Center of Expertise was approved by United Nations University, the academic and research arm of the United Nations that oversees the international network of regional centers. The NTRC is a coalition of local nonprofits, municipalities, educational institutions, businesses and other sustainability advocates interested in working together to promote the UN sustainability goals.
Construction management
OnlineMasters.com ranked UTA’s construction management program among the best online programs nationwide for 2019, Construction Business Owner reported.
Transfer students
UTA ranked among the top 10 in the number of transfer students in 2017, U.S. News & World Report reported.
Master plan
The Rhome City Council approved a contract with UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs to prepare a master plan for the city, the Wise County Messenger reported.
UTA alumna profiled
UTA alumna Wendy Okolo was profiled in Nigeria’s Legit.ng about being the first black woman to earn a doctorate in aerospace engineering at UTA.
New vice president
Tarek Alzien has been hired as vice president of operations for Boomerang Tube LLC, an oil tubular goods producer, GlobeNewswire, Oil & Gas 360, Palestine News Network and several other media outlets reported. Alzien earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from UTA.
Business director
Jason Burnette has been hired as business director for Liphatech Inc., AgriMarketing reported. Burnette earned his bachelor’s degree in operations management from UTA.