UTA In The News — Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Student listening session
UTA hosted a listening session for parents and students on Tuesday to discuss the changes implemented by the University to uphold the health and safety of students, faculty and staff as the campus repopulates for the fall semester, KDFW FOX 4 reported. Pranesh Aswath, UTA’s interim provost, spoke with the outlet about updates to UTA’s facilities to mitigate the spread of the virus, including providing separate living quarters for students who need to self-isolate after a positive diagnosis but cannot return safely to their permanent residence.
Return to campus request
UTA is asking all students to limit their social activities and contact with non-household members “to the maximum extent possible” for two weeks before returning to campus for the fall semester, The Dallas Morning News reported. The request is one of several precautions the University is taking this fall to try and ensure student safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
Arlington Unity Council
Jason Shelton, director of UTA’s Center for African American Studies, is chairing the Arlington Unity Council, a new group taking a data-driven approach to addressing inequities in the city, KERA reported.
COVID-19 in bats for decades
Close relatives of COVID-19 likely circulated in bats for decades before the pandemic-responsible virus made the jump into humans last year, according to a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology and co-authored by UTA’s Todd Castoe, the American Military News reported. Castoe, associate professor of biology, and his collaborators found no evidence that the virus was either manufactured in or accidentally released from a lab in Wuhan, China, as some have speculated.
Aerospace engineering student honor
For the second consecutive year, a UTA graduate student has won a prestigious national award for noise control engineering, Technology Business Daily reported. Chia-Ching Lin, an aerospace engineering doctoral student, has earned the Leo Beranek Student Medal for Excellence in the Study of Noise Control from the Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA for his research in hypoid gear noise and vibration control in automotive rear axle systems.