UTA In The News — Friday, September 14, 2018
Fracking wastewater use
The American Society of Engineering Education’s First Bell newsletter highlighted a UTA opinion piece in The Dallas Morning News on using fracking wastewater in the oil and gas industry. Zacariah Hildenbrand, UTA consultant and alumnus, and Kevin Schug, UTA’s Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry, wrote the piece. They operate UTA’s Collaborative Laboratories for Environmental Analysis and Remediation, or CLEAR lab. The article is highlighted under the Research and Development category in First Bell.
U.S. News rankings
UTA is ranked No. 11 in Texas according to the latest Best Colleges list from U.S. News & World Report, Fort Worth CultureMap reported.
3D shapes created
Kyungsuk Yum, an assistant professor in UTA’s Materials Science and Engineering Department, and his doctoral student, Amirali Nojoomi, have developed a process by which 2D hydrogels can be programmed to enable the formation of complex 3D shapes and motions, R&D Magazine, Space Daily, Health Medicine Network and other media outlets reported. Potential applications for the technology include bioinspired soft robotics, artificial muscles and programmable matter.
Jumping genes
Esther Betran, UTA biology professor, will be using the high-tech tools provided by the North Texas Genome Center to shed light on the role of “jumping genes,” Phys.org, News-Medical and Targeted News Service reported. Jumping genes make up a large fraction of the genome and are responsible for much of the mass of DNA in cells. They are known as jumping genes because they change their position or copy themselves within the genome. The research is part of an NSF grant Betran received.
Rewilding popular
What makes rewilding distinct is that it defines an inventory of natural life that is worked back into the environment and practically supported, wrote Kevin Sloan, a UTA landscape architecture professor in practice and professional landscape architect in Dallas, in a column about rewilding for The Dallas Morning News. Rewilding is an approach to landscape and environmental development that is sweeping the globe.
Mapping enzymes
UTA biochemists are mapping the function of specific enzymes that may facilitate the development of new drugs to fight bacterial infection, cancer and diseases, Pharma Business Week reported. Brad Pierce, UTA associate professor of biochemistry, is leading the study with an National Institutes of Health grant.
Heroic debate
Sam Haynes, UTA professor of history and director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, said he agreed with a recent committee to remove the word heroic from school textbooks when describing Alamo combatants, Austin’s KUT 90.5 FM reported. Haynes said state officials issued the study as a kind of “moral instruction." He said the history profession has come a long way since then. Part 2 of the interview can be heard here.
TMAC state executive director
Mark Sessumes, metroplex regional director, was selected as TMAC's state executive director, Targeted News Service reported. One of TMAC’s regional centers is at UTA. TMAC’s mission is to improve the global competitiveness of the Texas economy by working to grow the extended manufacturing enterprise.
Better sensors
UTA researchers, working with the Department of Defense and Argonne National Laboratory, have made photosensors more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation through the use of nanotechnology, Science Daily, R&D Magazine, Phys.org and other media outlets reported.
Texas Autocross
Collegiate auto racing teams from across the country will converge on The University of Texas at Arlington campus to rev their engines and compete against the clock at the 18th Annual Texas Autocross Weekend Sept. 29-30, U.S. Fed News reported.
Book featured
Alusine Jalloh, UTA associate professor of history, was featured in a story about his book “Muslim Fula Business Elites and Politics in Sierra Leone,” Sierra Leone’s The Organiser reported.
3D vision technology
Christopher McMurrough, UTA senior lecturer in computer science and engineering, and James Staud, UTA graduate, are working on 3D vision technology, robotics and automation, Arlington-tx.gov reported in the city’s American Dream City series.
Golf director wins
Stuart Deane, UTA director of golf, shot 65-66 for 131 to win the North Texas PGA's Joyce Crane/Veritex Bank Section Championship at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, The Dallas Morning News reported. It was Deane's third section championship title and 14th individual major championship.
Texas Trust-UTA pact
Texas Trust Credit Union is kicking off its fifth year of strategic partnership with UTA, CUInsight.com reported. According to Jim Baker, UTA athletics director, “Students attending games at College Park Center will have access to student-centric specials, games, merchandise, and more, available exclusively within the Texas Trust corridor before and during the games.”
Band is committed
UTA student Lauren Pinto said BTS, a South Korean pop boy band, has a commitment to social justice that makes the band stand out compared to American or British boy bands, the Star-Telegram reported.