Message from the Editor
First semesters can shape your future. Handle the rigorous coursework and you’re on the road to graduation and career success. Venture beyond the classroom and you make friendships that last a lifetime.
UT Arlington’s Class of 2017 arrived this fall full of energy, excitement, and ambition. It’s a notable class—the first under Vistasp Karbhari, who became UT Arlington’s eighth president in June. As you’ll read in our conversation with President Karbhari, he shares the students’ enthusiasm and is committed to providing them a top-tier education that instills creativity and innovation.
Themes of newness and distinction pervade this issue. A study by the New America Foundation named UT Arlington one of six “Next Generation Universities.” The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked UT Arlington seventh on its list of fastest-growing public research universities. And U.S. News & World Report ranked us as the nation’s fifth most ethnically diverse campus.
Laura Suarez Henderson is among a handful of students worldwide to win two Amelia Earhart Fellowships, awarded annually to women pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering. Henderson also received a highly competitive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to locate space debris and determine how to maneuver around it.
Our cover story features the research of four professors who are exploring ways to preserve the world’s water supply and protect it from toxins and other dangers. Even the old becomes new as we take a fresh look at the JFK assassination through essays written by students here 50 years ago.
Beginnings offer hope, and the dawn of an academic year with a new president is an ideal time to elevate our aspirations. To paraphrase Dr. Karbhari, we have the opportunity to dream big dreams and work together to make them come true.
