MavWire 2016 Archive » MavWire — Thursday, January 7, 2016

Get the scoop from political insiders at Maverick Speakers Series events

Tickets are available online to see Ron Paul and Donna Brazile in the next two Maverick Speakers Series events.

A former congressman and physician, Dr. Paul will speak on "Liberty Defined: The Future of Freedom" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Texas Hall. A question-and-answer session and a book signing will follow the lecture.

Paul enjoys a national reputation as a premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Since his retirement from Congress, Paul has continued to work for limited constitutional government through organizations he founded, including the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE), Campaign for Liberty, and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. He recently launched The Ron Paul Liberty Report, an online network airing original programming on today’s most pertinent issues.

Paul is the author of several best-selling books, including the recently released Swords Into Plowshares, which offers a personal reflection on American's history of war, foreign intervention, and prospects for peace.

Political strategist and commentator Donna Brazile will discuss "Politics and Beyond" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at Texas Hall. A question-and-answer session will follow the lecture.

Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, and vice chair of voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee. Her work as campaign manager for Al Gore made her the first African-American woman to manage a presidential campaign. Her many accolades include the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s highest award for political achievement.

General admission is free, but tickets are required. Preferred ticket packages are available and include reserved seating, parking, and more. For all these ticket options, go to utatickets.com.

For VIP packages, contact Mark LaVelle at mlavelle@uta.edu or 2-5235.

Tickets for "Gombe and Beyond: An Evening with Dr. Jane Goodall" will be available Tuesday, March 1. Dr. Goodall will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at College Park Center.

Dr. Michael Cho

Engineering chair wins Navy grant to show how shockwaves injure brains

Michael Cho, professor and chair of the Bioengineering Department, is leading a collaborative team to determine for the first time in real time the mechanisms that cause symptoms of traumatic brain injuries due to blast shockwaves that often go undetected.

The work is funded by a new three-year, $1.24 million grant from the Office of Naval Research Warfighter Performance Department and will change the way doctors look for brain injuries suffered in battle.

Dr. Cho joined UTA in March 2015 as the Alfred R. and Janet H. Potvin Endowed Chair in Bioengineering.

Read more about the Cho's brain injury research.

Free transportation education and training now at UTA

Texas cities and counties may now access free expertise in transportation training, safety instruction, heavy equipment courses, and other services through the Texas Local Technical Assistance Program operated by UTA.

The Division of Enterprise Development won a highly competitive, two-year $1.8 million grant to operate the program, which officials have named TxLTAP. The Texas Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration jointly fund the program, which provides technical assistance and workforce training that many smaller or rural Texas counties and cities do not have.

A new website, www.txltap.org, serves as the portal to help connect those cities and counties with expert help.

Read more about the Texas Local Technical Assistance Program.

Dr. Shouyi Wang

Engineer developing more precise lung cancer imaging, radiation results

Researchers at UTA and the University of Washington have developed a new, personalized respiratory-motion system that uses mathematical modeling to capture images of a patient’s lung, offering a clearer, more precise image of the tumor to be destroyed.

Shouyi Wang, assistant professor of industrial, manufacturing and systems engineering, is the principal investigator on a three-year, $250,000 National Science Foundation grant to provide mproved, more precise radiation therapy.

Dr. Wang’s approach monitors respiratory gating, or a patient’s motion breath-by-breath, and uses the data collected to focus a radiology beam on the targeted area when the chest cavity is relaxed, the stage that provides the best picture of a cancerous site.

Read more about Wang's lung imaging research.

Medical anthropologist explores reproductive travel in 'Fertility Holidays'

New research from UTA shows that a growing number of North Americans are heading to Central European locations such as the Czech Republic seeking low-cost in vitro fertilization treatments to create a particular kind of family.

Amy Speier, assistant professor of medical anthropology, says mostly white, lower middle class, heterosexual couples are enticed by advertisements promising them doctors who care, as well as Caucasian donors.

Dr. Speier examines the phenomenon in one of the first ethnographies on North American reproductive tourism in the forthcoming NYU Press book, Fertility Holidays: IVF Tourism and the Reproduction of Whiteness. Her research also is detailed in the current issue of Anthropologica.

Read more about Speier's fertility travel research.

Dr. Samarendra Mohanty

Physicists offer hope for macular degeneration sufferers

Physics researchers at UTA have developed a new platform that uses ultrafast near-infrared lasers to deliver gene therapy to damaged areas of the retina to enable vision restoration in patients with photo-degenerative diseases.

Samarenda Mohanty, assistant professor of physics and head of UTA’s Biophysics and Physiology Group, led the research for the new method in a recent article published by the Nature journal Light: Science & Applications.

Read more about Dr. Mohanty's gene therapy research.

Mileage reimbursement rate changed

The standard mileage reimbursement rate for travel January 1 and after will decrease from 57.5 cents per mile to 54 cents per mile. This rate is consistent with the Internal Revenue Service’s standard mileage rate.

The rate of reimbursement is affected by the travel date, not the reimbursement date.

For assistance with mileage reimbursement, or any other travel-related question, call Travel Services at 2-2194.

UTA Day at the Rodeo Make plans now to join fellow Mavericks for lunch and a 2 p.m. rodeo performance Sunday, Jan. 24, at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, a Cowtown tradition that dates to 1896. Details and ticket information.

NetIDplus scheduled to go live for UTShare on Sunday

UT System will require the use of NetIDplus for every UTShare login off-campus. This requirement is a continuation of the UT System two-factor authentication mandate and is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10.

Help sessions are set for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 11 and 12, in Room 123 of Hammond Hall.

Enroll in NetIDplus early if you regularly access UT Share. NetIDplus is now required for all VPN access.

Self-enroll in NetIDplus at any time using the enrollment site. User guides for how to enroll, managing devices, and more are on the NetIDplus website,. The enrollment process requires the use of a computer and an authentication device, such as a cell phone, landline, or tablet.

For more information, visit the NetIDplus website and two-factor authentication site or contact Help Desk at helpdesk@uta.edu and 2-2208.

Emergency generator test on Friday

Facilities Management will test the emergency electrical generators on some buildings 1-2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8.

Buildings to be tested are Carlisle Hall, Central Library, Chemistry and Physics Building, Davis Hall, Life Science Building, Pickard Hall, Science Hall, E.H. Hereford University Center, and University Hall.

There will be a slight “blip” of a half-second as the electrical service transfers to the generator and another as it is transferred back to the normal building service. The test will affect only the electrical services tied to each building’s generator, not the entire building.

For questions, call Toby Buhrkuhl at 972-832-1490 or Jeff Johnson at 817-798-8456.

Renew your locker at MAC

Renew your locker at the Maverick Activities Center by today, Thursday, Jan. 7, to save the space for the spring semester. If you choose not to renew, please clean out the locker by that date.

Available lockers will be ready to rent on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

For details, email Blair Schuyler or call 2-0207. Visit the Campus Recreation website for MAC programs and services.

Info session next week on Strategic Research Appointments

An information session on the Strategic Research Appointments for Faculty program is at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, in Room 210 of the Life Science Building.

The new program enables faculty members to conduct research at other institutions and develop research collaborations.

Read more about Strategic Research Appointments for Faculty.

Know the rules about political activities

As another election year begins, please remember public employees are prohibited from engaging in political activity during work hours or using any UTA resources—including office email, equipment, or their position at UTA—for the purposes of supporting a candidate or issue.

See the UT System's memo on employee political activity.

Tuesday, Jan. 12

ProCard Register online. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Room E200C, Continuing Education Building. Business Affairs.

Wednesday, Jan. 13

Position and Workforce Management Register online. 8:30-10:30 a.m., Room E200C, Continuing Education Building. Business Affairs.

Thursday, Jan. 14

Managing Department Funds Register online. 1:30-3:30 p.m., Room E200C, Continuing Education Building. Business Affairs.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UTA calendar.)

Friday, Jan. 15

Martin Luther King Jr. "Advancing the Dream" Banquet Awards, scholarship presentation, entertainment, and more. Tickets $45. 6 p.m., Bluebonnet Ballroom, E.H. Hereford University Center.

Friends of the Library Editor Michael Duty, Deep in the Art of Texas. 7:30 p.m., sixth floor parlor, Central Library. Friends of the Library.

Saturday, Jan. 16

MLK Poetry Slam Competition Tickets $20. 7 p.m., Bluebonnet Ballroom, E.H. Hereford University Center.

Thursday, Jan. 21

Basketball Double Header Mavericks vs. Arkansas State. National Hugging Day going for Guinness World Record, Blue Out. Knit caps for first 150 students, and UTA Koozies for first 250 fans. Meet the 2016 Maverick baseball team. Tickets $7-20 general public, $3 students. Maverick women's game 5 p.m., men's game 7:15 p.m., College Park Center. Athletics.

Saturday, Jan. 23

Basketball Double Header Mavericks vs. Arkansas-Little Rock. Carnival Day, Blaze's Kids Club Day. Meet the 2016 Maverick softball team. Tickets $7-20 general public, $3 students. Maverick women's game 5 p.m., men's game 7:15 p.m., College Park Center. Athletics.

Women's Tennis Mavericks vs. Tarleton State. Free. 10 a.m., UTA Tennis Center. Athletics.

Ongoing

Special Collections: Ringside: Memories of WCC Wrestling 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, sixth floor, Central Library. Through Jan. 16. UTA Libraries Special Collections.

Planetarium See the schedule. Planetarium at UTA.

(For an expanded list of events, see the UTA calendar.)