UTAENGINEER | i

UTA ENGiNEERTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON | COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

2015

Neuron-stimulating lights may be the key to helping veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

Dispatches from the Forefront of Discovery

MINDMATTERS

At UT Arlington we’re asking big questions and seeking innovative solutions. Our students and faculty tackle the pressing problems in today’s society, everything from clean energy to health care to national security. With more than 7,000 students and 33 degree programs, the College of Engineering is one of

the largest and most comprehensive engineering programs in the state, providing students with the resources, support, and knowledge that they need to succeed.

To learn more about the College of Engineering, including information on our graduate programs, many corporate outreach opportunities, and more, visit uta.edu/engineering.

C O L L E G E O FE N G I N E E R I N G

DiscoveryAt the Forefront of

CONTENTS

8

10Bird-Brained Taking their cue from shore-birds, Professor Cheng Luo and Xin Heng cre-ated a novel solution for fighting drought.

Fab Lab Inspires Creativity Faculty and students are taking advantage of high-tech equipment like 3-D printers and scanners.

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS 2 DISPATCH 3 LAB NOTES 4 FACULTY 6 RESEARCH 8 CLASSROOM

20 BEYOND THE LAB 21 DONOR 22 ALUMNI

23 CLASS NOTES 24 RE-ENGINEERED

2015VOLUME IV

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Dean

Khosrow BehbehaniSenior Associate Dean

for Academic Affairs Lynn Peterson

Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs Pranesh Aswath

Associate Dean for Research

Anand PuppalaAssistant Dean for

Student AffairsJ. Carter Tiernan

Director of CommunicationsJeremy Agor

Director of Marketing Services Tracey Faulkinbury

UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Vice President for Communications

Lynne T. WatersEditor

Jessica BridgesDesigner

Brody PriceContributorHerb Booth

UTA Engineer is published by University Communications.

Reproduction in whole or part without written permission

is prohibited. The comments and opinions expressed in this

magazine do not necessarily represent those of The University

of Texas at Arlington or the staff of UTA Engineer. Copyright

2015, The University of Texas at Arlington. UTA does not

discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion,

age, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, genetic information,

and/or veteran status in the educational programs or activities

it operates. For more info, visit uta.edu/eos. For info regarding

Title IX, visit uta.edu/titleix.College of Engineering

UT Arlington Box 19019 Arlington, TX 76019

817-272-3682agor@uta.edu

uta.edu/engineering

UTA ENGiNEER

Safe and Sound The high-tech SmartCare apartment is giving elderly residents a new lease on life.

Energy Efforts By developing sus-tainable, cost-effective energy sys-tems, UT Arlington engineers hope to ensure a brighter future for the next generation.

Serving Those Who Served Research into PTSD, prosthetics, and arthritis caused by war wounds are just a few of the ways UTA is helping veterans.

16

12

24

DISPATCH

As the new semester begins, the College of Engineering’s focus on health care, energy, security, and the environ-ment continues. Aligned with the recently formulated UT Arlington strategic vision, we are working hard to break new ground in all of these areas.

In this issue, you will read about how researchers in the Bioengineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engi-neering Departments are helping ease veterans’ suffering from the physical and mental injuries that they received in battle. You will learn how a collaboration between the College of Engineering, College of Nursing and Health

Innovation, and Lakewood Village Senior Living Community in Fort Worth is allow-ing senior citizens to live independently without sacrificing their health and safety. Finally, you will discover how our researchers could help companies save millions of dollars and significant energy resources through better cooling techniques.

The college’s enrollment surpassed 7,000 students this fall—an all-time high. We are delighted that our students are having the types of experiences detailed by Mila Hunt, Naima Rivas, and Cynthia Rodriguez in our “I’m an Engineer” campaign (uta.engineering/iamanengineer). We are focused on recruiting more female students, and this is part of that effort.

To encourage greater student success, this fall we are offering a new class, “Solv-ing Engineering Problems,” to help freshmen better understand how math is applied to engineering. The class also focuses on collaborative learning and emphasizes written and verbal communication to help students master the art of presenting their solutions and ideas—two skills highly valued by employers.

We often talk about how we, as engineers, have a profound effect on the world around us. Health care, energy, security, the environment, and other areas are affected by our work. This, and our commitment to the success of our students, is what the UT Arlington College of Engineering is all about.

Thinking Strategically for the Future

Khosrow BehbehaniDean, UT Arlington College of Engineering

Khosrow Behbehani, Dean of the College

of Engineering

UTAENGINEER | 3

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE COLLEGE, ITS FACULTY, AND ITS STUDENTS

Youth Academy LaunchesGetting teenagers interested in engineering is the goal of the new Technology Education Academy, headed by Gian-Luca Mariottini, an assistant professor in the Department of Com-puter Science and Engineering.

“Different than many existing ‘play-with-robots’ initiatives, the Technology Education Academy’s goal is to use robots and assistive technology to make students passionate about STEM fields,” explains Dr. Mariottini.

The pilot 12-week after-school program serves 8th- through 12th-graders from select

Arlington ISD schools at “The Lab,” located in the East Arlington Branch Library.

“We want to make it fun,” says Mariottini. “At the same time, we also have developed an educational curriculum in collaboration with Arlington teacher J. Smeaton to provide students with a practical way of learning about science and mathematics through robots, while using teamwork.”

The academy is funded by the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation in collaboration with the Arlington Public Library and Arlington ISD.

LAB NOTES

PAIRING INNOVATION WITH INDUSTRYThe University will soon have a strategic outpost in the California technology sector, thanks to a new partnership with longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur and engineer-ing alumna Gloria Maceiko (’82). This important venture will allow technology developed at UT Arling-ton to be matched with investors and corporate partners.

As part of the endeavor, Maceiko facilitated an agreement between GrandCanal Solutions (a supply chain optimization company) and the Department of Industrial, Man-ufacturing, and Systems Engineer-ing to focus on supply-chain science and resolving industrial engineering issues.

Ron Elsenbaumer, provost and vice president for academic affairs, believes the partnership represents an evolution in UTA’s technology commercialization efforts.

“The University’s research teams add daily to our catalog of tech-nology and innovation,” he says.

“These Silicon Valley initiatives will amplify our efforts to more quickly match University technologies with the businesses and entrepreneurs that can benefit most from them.”

Gian-Luca Mariottini uses robots to show teens a fun way to learn about engineering and math.

Maceiko

4 | UTAENGINEER

BIOENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE CHAIRS APPOINTEDTwo departments in the College of Engineering are under new leadership in 2015. Michael Cho was named chair of the Bioengineering Department while Hong Jiang is heading the Computer Science and Engineering Department.

Dr. Cho was named a fellow of the American Institute for Medi-cal and Biomedical Engineering in 2011 for seminal contributions in establishing tissue-engineering methods to regulate cell and tissue behavior over multiple length scales. Previously, he was a professor of bioengineering at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

A program director at the National Science Foundation and a fellow of the Institute of Electri-cal and Electronics Engineers, Dr. Jiang in recent years has focused on memory and storage architecture to provide systems support for big data research. Prior to coming to UT Arlington, Jiang served as the Willa Cather Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

FACULTY

University Launches Chapter of National Academy of Inventors Faculty researchers now have a new way to network with other innovators on campus, as UTA was chosen to host a chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

NAI fellowships are awarded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly pro-lific spirit of innovation. Their outstanding cre-ations have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. Seven engineering professors are NAI fel-

lows (including four Charter Fellows) and about 100 UT Arlington professors possess patents for various devices, processes, and technologies.

“The University is honored to host a chapter of this magnitude,” says Ron Elsenbaumer, NAI fellow and UT Arlington provost and vice presi-dent for academic affairs. “Whenever we can display our research, we have the opportunity to showcase how that research can change the world.”

Thousands of students from around the world were introduced to engineering thanks to a new Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, created and coordinated by Pranesh Aswath, asso-ciate dean for graduate studies and a professor of materials science and engineering.

The course, which was targeted to high school

students, aimed to excite students about engineer-ing and open their eyes to opportunities in the field. It also helped improve their math skills by showing how the subject is relevant to their daily lives.

“High school students have little exposure in school to engineering. They learn science and math, but don’t have a

concept of engineering as a career,” says Dr. Aswath.

“The goal of this course is to demystify engineering in the context of oppor-tunities, and to demystify math in the context of engineering.”

More than 18,000 stu-dents from 182 countries enrolled in the course, with contributions from more than 30 UT Arling-ton faculty.

MOOC SHOWS HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS IMPORTANCE

OF MATH, ENGINEERING

UT Arlington is hosting a new chapter of the National Academy of Inventors.

LAB NOTES

Jiang

Cho

UTAENGINEER | 5

REIFSNIDER LEADING NEW INSTITUTE The College of Engineer-ing’s newest addition, Kenneth Reifsnider, is set to lead the University’s Institute for Predictive Performance of Advanced Materials and Structures.

“The institute will focus on materials systems, an area of engineering cur-rently experiencing rapid growth,” he says. “We cannot afford to develop complex systems of mate-rials in high-performance structures by trial and error, and the growing cost of maintaining such systems in applications from automobiles to turbines to jet engines is a barrier for the future.”

Dr. Reifsnider, who is a member of the presti-gious National Academy of Engineering, joined the University in June. He is an expert in high-temper-ature energy systems and composite materials

Reifsnider believes the institute will serve a criti-cal function for the Uni-versity: “We will develop methods of predicting the function and reliability of complex systems of mate-rials in high-performance systems. The research will enhance many systems and significantly reduce the cost of design and maintenance of engi-neered materials.”

Solving the Unsolvable Industrial, manufacturing, and systems engineering Professors Bill Corley and Jay Rosenberger have demonstrated a way to solve a broad class of previously unsolvable real-world decision problems. Their approach reduces the number of calculations so solutions in linear programming problems are obtained much faster than existing methods for large decision problems. This allows an organization to maximize profit, minimize costs, and allocate resources. “Linear program-ming is the most widely used computational model in the business and scien-tific worlds,” Dr. Corley says. “It will now become even more important.”

Jay Rosenberger and Bill Corley’s ubiquitous

decision model will help organizations

find better solutions.

SPOTLIGHT

Reifsnider

6 | UTAENGINEER

RESEARCH

Cooling Electrons with Nanotech Materials science and engineering Associate Professor Seong Jin Koh and his team have discovered a way to cool electrons to -228 degrees Celsius without external means and at room temperature. The process involves passing the electrons through a quantum well, which cools them and keeps them from heating. This advancement could enable electronic devices to function with very little energy. As engineering Dean Khosrow Behbehani says, “Dr. Koh and his research team are developing real-world solutions to a critical global challenge of utilizing energy efficiently and developing sustainable electronic technology that will benefit us all every day.”

Seong Jin Koh’s process can help cool

electrons and allow devices to function

with little energy.

SPOTLIGHT

PREDICTING URBAN WATER ISSUESA group of UTA engineers is developing an urban water prediction system that integrates data from advanced weather radar systems, innovative wire-less sensors, and even cellphone apps.

D.J. Seo, an associate professor in the Civil Engineering Department, is leading the project, which aims to create high-resolution model-ing of water systems to improve the sustainabil-ity of large urban areas from extreme weather, urbanization, and climate change. The resulting prediction system will use cloud computing to produce products for flash-flood forecasting, inundation mapping, water-quality forecasting, storm water management, urbanization impact assessment, climate change impact assess-ment, and more. The proj-ect also will eventually aid local governments in determining infrastruc-ture needs to minimize flooding.

“This research will look at not only water quantity, but also at water quality through the use of sensors,” says Khosrow Behbehani, dean of the College of Engineer-ing. “It will advance our understanding of urban sustainability and its associated challenges through the environmen-tal, social, and economic needs of a large city.”

Dr. Seo’s project builds on his previous work in establishing the CASA (Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmo-sphere) radar system in North Texas.

LAB NOTES

UTAENGINEER | 7

Unlocking Hidden Connections Computer science and engineering Professor Gautam Das is developing a system to combine and understand the hidden data stored on social net-works like Twitter and Facebook.

The key is to find “implicit edges” in how the Web platforms are used. Implicit edges connect two seem-ingly unrelated occurrences on social media sites; in contrast, explicit edges represent more obvious rela-tionships, such as friends, followers, and contacts.

“We will determine which are the

more promising directions to pursue when seeking more hidden data,” says Dr. Das, who is also director of UT Arlington’s Database Exploration Laboratory. “We are looking at who is acquainted or are followers of one per-son or another across social networks.”

Das’ research could be used to improve military intelligence, make electronic commerce more efficient, identify topics generating media buzz and public interest, and even help determine pharmaceutical side effects of certain drugs.

DEVICE DETECTS HARMFUL VAPORS IN ROOM OR BREATHAn electrical engineer at UTA is building a handheld, nanoscale gas chromatography tool that could detect and analyze dangerous gases in a person’s breath or the air in a room.

“Our sensors can separate hun-dreds of vapors in complex samples and identify the ones that could be used as chemical markers,” says Assistant Professor Yuze “Alice” Sun.

“Many devices like this are large and don’t always have separation capabilities to provide detection specificity.”

The device could be especially useful in environmental and security settings. For example, homeowners could detect whether certain allergens or toxic chemicals are present in their house, firefight-ers could determine if there were accelerants present at a fire, or Homeland Security agents could check whether someone’s luggage has evidence of explosives.

assistant bioengineering professor, is developing a bioactive patch that will help restore function to the heart and extend a patient’s life.

After a heart attack, heart muscle dies and the walls of the heart become thin and weak. This weakness may cause the heart to expand too much and lessen its ability to effectively move blood through the body. Dr. Hong’s bioactive scaffold,

in the form of a patch, will strengthen the heart muscle, then become part of the heart itself.

“Our new polymer com-bines with the heart to allow new muscle to grow over it and create new tissue before the patch biodegrades,” he explains.

“This really focuses on the patient. We will be able to suture the patch in place to quickly restore the damaged area and extend the patient’s life.”

BIOACTIVE PATCH HEALS DAMAGED HEARTSHeart attacks are life-changing events, all the more so because the resulting muscle dam-age weakens the organ and makes recovery difficult. Yi Hong, an

Gautam Das is looking for hidden

connections on social media platforms.

8 | UTAENGINEER

Fab Lab Inspires CreativityWith the opening of the “Fab Lab” in the Central Library, engineering faculty and students gained access to high-tech equipment to help them build prototypes and apply classroom concepts to real-life applications.

UT Arlington’s Fabrication Laboratory fea-tures technology for research in digital fabrica-tion and data visualization, including nine 3-D printers, a laser cutter, vinyl cutter, 3-D scanners, and digital media software and hardware. Like other Fab Labs, it emphasizes collaborative learning as well as creation and fabrication.

President Vistasp Karbhari believes the project is well-suited for a modern, urban uni-versity and will provide faculty, students, and UTA partners access to technology that inspires innovation.

“We applaud the UT Arlington Libraries for having the vision to bring the Fab Lab to our University community,” he says. “The Fab Lab will allow our students and faculty to engage with cut-ting-edge technologies that foster creativity and new ways of thinking about the way we use data and envision design, among many applications.”

CLASSROOMLAB NOTESFROM CLASSROOM TO MARKETPLACERaul Fernandez is helping students become entrepreneurs. The profes-sor in practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is leading a new program, funded by the National Science Foundation, that aims to teach students how to bring their ideas to market through teamwork and collaboration. Technology Management Director Teri Schultz is co-principal investigator.

Previously, students attended universities, learned their trade, and then were left to figure out how to commercialize their inventions on their own. In Dr. Fernandez’s new model, students will gain the neces-sary skills while they are still on campus and able to receive faculty mentorship, thus giving them a bet-ter chance at success.

“We hope this will take hold across campus. Entrepreneurship is a natural fit for engineering and business, but you can be innovative at any level. There’s no limit,” says Fernandez. “This program creates tremendous synergy and enthusi-asm. It’s about creating a commu-nity, not about vying for something, and people are eager to share their success stories and mentor others.”

The Fab Lab gives students access to high-tech equipment like 3-D printers.

Fernandez

UTAENGINEER | 9

COLLEGE ADDS ARCHI-TECTURAL ENGINEERING DEGREE THIS FALLThe College of Engi-neering joined with the College of Archi-tecture, Planning, and Public Affairs to offer a new bachelor’s degree program in architectural engineering. The addition brings the total number of engineering undergrad-uate degree programs to 10.

“We created this new bachelor’s degree after being approached by engineering companies in Dallas who wanted us to do so,” explains Civil Engineering Department Chair Ali Abolmaali. “In general, civil engineers are not trained to design buildings, but with additional training in architecture, they can work a project from con-cept to design to finished construction drawings.”

Students will take courses in architectural drawing, structural anal-ysis, structural design, drawing, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, among others. The result-ing skill set will give graduates unique knowl-edge of how to design and build structures, which in return will give compa-nies more flexibility.

According to Dr. Abolmaali, there are only two similar programs in Texas: at UT Austin, which is operating at capacity, and at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Water Watchers As the city of Kennedale grows, so do concerns about the quality of its water. To learn how good or bad the supply is, the city turned to Assistant Professor Nick Fang and his students. For 12 months, they will sample sediment and stormwater at four locations, then test them for various chemicals and elements like cadmium, chromium, lead, copper, and arsenic. The students received training from the Trinity River Authority and U.S. Geological Survey to ensure the tests are done properly.

SPOTLIGHT

Nick Fang’s civil engineering students are studying the quality of Kennedale’s water.

10 | UTAENGINEER

SmartCare project helps the elderly remain independent at home through monitoring and sensor technology.

Mon i tor i ng a n elderly relative’s health while allow-ing her to remain independent could become easier if an experiment by computer science and engineering

researchers Manfred Huber and Gergely Zaruba goes well. SmartCare, a joint project between the College of Nursing

and Health Innovation and the College of Engineering, focuses on designing intelligent care technology that can be installed in the homes of older adults. It could eventually mean the dif-ference between a loved one living alone or being forced to live in a nursing home.

“The goal and promise of SmartCare,” Dr. Huber says, “is that sensor technology embedded in the home—together with intelligent software and the integration of care and support systems using new communication technologies—will help older adults live longer in their homes, manage their health more efficiently, and remain connected with their families and health care providers.”

An apartment in the retirement living residences at Lakewood Village in Fort Worth is hosting the research. It is equipped throughout with sensor-laden flooring that can monitor the resident for signs of injury. Other systems are able to detect if medication is being properly managed or if the resident is bed-ridden or inactive. Because of this technology, he or she will be able to live independently while still remain-ing under unobtrusive supervision and evaluation.

“SmartCare is a great opportunity for us to research, develop, and field test health technologies especially tailored to the elderly,” Dr. Zaruba says.

Safe and Sound

FLOOR: Sensors underneath tiles on the floor allow researchers to mea-sure and evaluate changes in a resident’s walking gait or weight that might suggest illness or injury.

GYM: Internet-connected exercise equipment, including a recumbent bike and Kinect-based Tai Chi trainer, ensure resi-dents are exercising regularly, even if they are unable to leave the apartment.

UTAENGINEER | 11

Safe and Sound

UTILITIES: Lighting and window transpar-encies are automated and electricity and water monitored to help make residents more comfortable.

BATHROOM: A scan-ner embedded in the bathroom mirror tells researchers about a resident’s day-to-day heart rate, facial expressions, and skin color, all of which can reveal info about his or her overall health.

KITCHEN: Smart appliances like a microwave, a range, and a refrigeratortrack food use and help prepare diet plans. They may also prevent injuries and fires resulting from forgetfulness.

BEDROOM: Sensors in the mattress allow researchers to moni-tor sleep patterns, such as fitful sleep or staying in bed too long. They can also indicate areas of the body that are under too much pressure and thus at risk for bedsores.

12 | UTAENGINEER

UTAENGINEER | 13

Engineers at UT Arlington are uncovering innovative ways to make generators, batteries, and other technology more energy-efficient.

Energy Efforts

Com pu t e r se rv e r s that are submerged in mineral oil for cooling. Generators that burn fuel 30 times faster but produce energy 25 percent more efficiently. Laptops that use cold elec-

trons to save battery life. These are just a sampling of the innovative and diverse ways UT Arlington is tackling energy research. This work is critical, since finding and harnessing renewable, sustainable energy sources is one of the major challenges facing the world today. As they look for new solutions in petroleum, electricity, water power, and more, engineers at the University are working to ensure that the future remains bright.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CJ BURTON/CORBIS

14 | UTAENGINEER

GENERATING EFFICIENT POWER Doctoral candidate Raheem Bello has created a new power generator that can produce electricity up to 25 percent more efficiently than existing technology. Such a device has the potential to reduce emissions and even alleviate power short-ages in more remote areas of the globe.

“We’re looking for our new, more effective generators to have the same impact on power as the cellphone had on communications for the bil-lions of people without access to electricity,” says Bello. “There are many areas of the world that can’t afford the electricity we take for granted in this country.”

Frank Lu, a professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and director of UT Arlington’s Aerodynamics Research Center,

believes the generator could radically alter the world of energy.

“This kind of innovation shows what our students are capable of,” he says. “The new energy technology can be a game-changer globally.”

Bello cofounded the company Afthon with Dr. Lu and fellow students Dibesh Joshi, James Peace, and Akin Adekeye to begin commercial-izing the research. Initially called Detonation Dynamics, Afthon—derived from the Greek word afthonia (αφθονία) for abundance—has entered many technology and commercialization compe-titions in the past year and won accolades for its innovation, including $25,000 in grant funding from VentureWell.

The Afthon process harnesses pressure gain combustion, also known as detonation, which

the team has termed “Fire 2.0.” Currently, no pressure gain combustion engines exist on the market.

“Up to 70 percent of energy is lost in current gas turbine combustion engine technology, which hasn’t evolved in several decades,” Bello explains. “We capture the bulk of that energy more efficiently so it’s not wasted as heat in the body of the engine.”

Afthon’s patented technology burns fuel more than 30 times faster than extant gas engines. It uses the same amount of fuel, but releases the energy very quickly so it does the work faster.

“It allows us to rev the engine down,” Bello says. “We can decrease the power to 10 percent of the generator’s capacity without sacrificing speed and while maintaining efficiency.”

The Afthon team believes the technology will be able to replace conventional engines in cars, boats, ships, trains, airplanes, rockets, and power plants. Another marketable aspect of the process is that it can use many types of fuels, including natural gas, propane, kerosene, or diesel.

Thanks to the VentureWell funding, Afthon has developed a lab prototype and hopes to soon build a field prototype generator. Though it usu-ally takes technology companies five to seven years to finish this stage, Bello thinks the techni-cal development could happen in just two or three.

KEEPING COMPUTERS COOLData centers at some of the United States’ largest computing companies require huge amounts of energy to run, consuming 3 percent or more of the nation’s power grid. Finding an effective way to cool servers and other computer hardware could lead to extensive cost savings and more efficient operation for the world’s computer net-works and the companies that depend on them.

Mechanical engineering Professor Dereje Agonafer thinks new advances in liquid cooling may do the trick.

In a typical server rack, fans circulate air to keep the hardware cool. However, organizations like IBM, Facebook, and Yahoo have hundreds of servers generating as much as 200 kilowatts of power. Fans are inefficient in cooling at that magnitude and take up a lot of space, so the com-panies have turned to liquid cooling as a better alternative.

“Liquid cooling is a foregone conclusion now that air cooling limitations are being exceeded,” explains Dr. Agonafer, who is site director for UTA’s Center in Energy Efficient Systems (part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/Uni-

Students in Seong Jin Koh’s lab

are helping him cool electrons

to -228° Celsius.

UTAENGINEER | 15

versity Cooperative Research Program). “More and higher-powered server applications, par-ticularly those in high-performance computing spaces, are requiring liquid cooling for perfor-mance as well as for energy-efficiency.”

One area that Agonafer is investigating is the effect of using warm water—25-30 degrees Celsius instead of 15-20 degrees—on energy use and whether it has a negative impact on the system. He is looking spe-cifically at leakage related to warm-water cooling, assessing the impact of pump failures on systems. In addition, Rick Eiland, a student in his lab, is studying the benefits of submerging the server racks completely in mineral oil, which does not have the corrosive or conductive effects that water does on the copper components within the servers.

REDUCING BATTERY CONSUMPTIONNew technology developed by Associate Profes-sor Seong Jin Koh may provide a solution to the bane of every cellphone user’s experience: battery life. His invention could lead to a tenfold reduc-tion in the energy consumption of smartphones, laptops, and tablets, which would result in an

identical reduction in the frequency of battery charges needed.

“The key is that all transistor components reside in a single nanopillar and that electrons flow through it without being heated,” says Dr. Koh. (A nanopillar is less than 50 nanometers in diameter; to compare, a human hair is about

100,000.) “This research will allow transistors to consume less energy and generate less heat. That greatly affects how well the transis-tors perform.”

The process involves passing electrons through a quantum well to cool them and keep them from heating. Electrons are thermally excited even at room temperature. If that excitation could be suppressed, the

temperature of those electrons would be effec-tively lowered without external cooling.

To do so, the team is using a nanoscale structure that consists of a sequential array of a source electrode, a quantum well, a tunneling barrier, a quantum dot, another tunneling bar-rier, and a drain electrode to suppress electron excitation and make electrons cold.

“We are the first to effectively cool electrons at room temperature. Researchers have done

electron cooling before, but only when the entire device is immersed into an extremely cold cool-ing bath,” says Koh. “Obtaining cold electrons at room temperature has enormous technical bene-fits. For example, the requirement of using liquid helium or liquid nitrogen for cooling electrons in various electron systems could be lifted.”

Usha Varshney, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Engineering, which funded Koh’s study, believes the implications of this research are vast.

“When implemented in transistors, these cold electrons could potentially reduce energy con-sumption of electronic devices by more than 10 times compared to the present technology,” Dr. Varshney says. “Personal electronic devices such as smartphones and iPads would last much longer before recharging.”

In addition to potential commercial appli-cations, there are many military uses for the technology. Batteries are heavy, and less power consumption means reducing the battery weight of the electronic equipment soldiers carry, thus enhancing their combat capability. Other poten-tial military applications include electronics for remote sensors, unmanned aerial vehicles, and high-capacity computing in remote operations.  

In the future, Koh hopes to identify key ele-ments that will allow the electrons to be cooled even further. The biggest challenge is keeping the electrons from gaining energy as they travel across device components, so more research is needed on how energy-gaining pathways could be effectively blocked.

“This kind of innovation shows

what our students are capable of. This new

energy technology can be a game-

changer globally.”

Left: Dereje Agonafer’s liquid cooling will benefit computing companies. Right: Seong Jin Koh’s cold electrons could reduce energy consumption.

16 | UTAENGINEER

Wh i l e s e r v i ng with the U.S. Army in Afghani-stan, David Tyson was injured in a firefight. Like many soldiers, he began suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when he returned home from the battlefield.

“I was feeling funny, and during my end-processing I asked if I could see someone about it,” Tyson recalls. “I wanted to be checked for PTSD and traumatic brain injury because I had a friend who had been diagnosed with them and he told me it was better to know than not know. I went to the U.S. Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs, and the doctor there referred me to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me.”

Though he began to receive treatment, many of Tyson’s difficulties remained, especially when it came to things like memory. That’s where UT Arlington stepped in. A number

of researchers at the University are investigating innovative ways to treat wounded veterans and improve their quality of life—such as an artificial limb outfitted with sensors that can automatically adjust its fit and a driverless car that can take patients to their doctors’ appointments.

Most importantly for Tyson, this research includes novel treatments for brain injuries. While studying at Tarrant County College, he was offered the opportunity to partici-pate in the Student Veteran Project, a veterans’ supported education clinical trial at the UT Arlington Center for Clinical Social Work. It was there that he was introduced to bioengi-neering Professor Hanli Liu and social work Associate Profes-sor Alexa Smith-Osborne.

“David completed the initial testing, and we found an area of his brain that wasn’t functioning fully as a result of

Important breakthroughs in PTSD, brain injuries, osteoarthritis, and prosthetics research are helping veterans live full and pain-free lives.

Serving Served

Those Who

UTAENGINEER | 17

David Tyson is part of a clinical trial for student vets

with brain injuries.

18 | UTAENGINEER

“The injectable scaffolds developed

can be used not only by soldiers, but also

millions of people worldwide who suffer

from arthritis.”

his traumatic brain injury,” explains Tracy Maddoux, his peer facilitator in the Student Veteran Project. “The research that Drs. Liu and Smith-Osborne are conducting will help us

develop a plan to help him succeed.”

The two profes-sors are using func-tional near-infrared spectroscopy to map brain activity responses during cognitive activi-ties related to digit learning and mem-ory retrial. Dr. Liu says that this type of brain imaging allows them to “see” which brain region or regions fail to memorize or recall learned knowledge in student veter-

ans with PTSD or comorbid conditions like traumatic brain injury.

“It also shows how PTSD can affect the way we learn and our ability to recall information,” she adds. “This new way of brain imaging really advances our understanding.”

The study is multi-disciplinary, associating objective brain imaging with neurology. The testing involved 16 combat veter-ans previously diagnosed with PTSD who were experiencing distress and functional impairment affecting cognitive and related academic performances. They were instructed to per-form a series of number-ordering tasks on a computer while

researchers monitored their brain activity through near-infra-red spectroscopy, a noninvasive neuroimaging technology.

While the research proved effective in measuring cogni-tive dysfunction associated with PTSD, it also yielded an unexpected but exciting discovery: Shining low-level light on the brain (by placing the light source on the skull) can stimu-late and energize neurons to function more effectively. When cells are stimulated with light, they remain stimulated for a lengthy period of time even after the light is removed. That is different than other therapies that use magnets or electric shocks and has potential to yield effective, longer-lasting treatments.

In Tyson’s case, light treatments have already made a dif-ference in his ability to comprehend and take tests.

“In my final exams, I had a multiple-choice test in my speech communications class and I realized I was able to process better. I was able to read, comprehend, and identify key words in the questions that I wasn’t before,” he says. “I was struck by the improvement. I’ve found a resource that has built my confidence level, and now I can see myself crossing the stage, getting my degree, and contributing to society.”

U n l i k e P T S D a n d T BI , osteoarthritis is not something we often think of as a post-combat condition. But while the disease is usually associated with aging, many young soldiers return home with cartilage damage that may contribute to its early onset.

Called post-traumatic osteoarthritis, it develops as a result of the improper healing of joints, which turn arthritic. It often occurs in soldiers with broken bones from blasts, shrapnel, and gunshot wounds.

Liping Tang, a professor in the Bioengineering Depart-ment, is attempting to treat the disease by injecting patients with nanoscaffolds that target injured cartilage and attract stem cells to the affected area to repair it naturally.

“Joints and cartilage are surrounded by stem cells that need instruction in where to go and what to do,” he explains.

“We’ve found that if we inject microscaffolding that we’ve developed into the injured area, it recruits the stem cells that are needed in the healing process. Biomolecules are then released from the scaffolds to transform stem cells into carti-lage cells to form new cartilage tissue, while also reducing the symptoms associated with arthritis.”

If successful, the consequences of traumatic injuries could be substantially reduced and made more manageable without the need for invasive surgery. This is in stark contrast to cur-rent treatments for osteoarthritis, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers, which reduce symptoms but are ineffective in curing the disease. As a result, patients often undergo joint replacements that may fail due to poor healing and union with surrounding tissue. In addition, multiple surgical interventions are usually needed to fix the joints over the patients’ lifetimes.

“The injectable scaffolds developed can be used not only by soldiers, but also millions of people worldwide who suffer

Hanli Liu and Alexa Smith-Osborne’s

research is helping veterans with PTSD

and brain injuries.

UTAENGINEER | 19

from arthritis,” notes engineering Dean Khosrow Behbehani. “The use of injectable and injury-targeting scaffolds minimizes the trauma of surgical operations, and the use of the patient’s own stem cells alleviates any concerns of immune rejection.”

I n 2 014 , a C ongr e s s ion a l Research Service Report estimated that U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014 had undergone more than 1,500 major limb amputations. While the past decade has seen vast improve-ments in prosthetics, problems remain. But Haiying Huang and Muthu Wijesundara hope their research will fix at least one of those: the pain that can result from a poor fit between an amputee’s residual limb and the prosthetic socket.

Prosthetic users frequently experience discomfort, blister-ing, and ulcers in areas where a prosthetic and limb meet. Currently, many manage the pain by sticking commercially available gel pads or even balled-up socks into the spaces between them.

Drs. Huang and Wijesundara are creating an adaptive interface that fits between a prosthetic and a patient’s limb to improve fit and comfort. The interface will resemble inflatable bubble wrap and will be embedded with four types of sensors that monitor the fit of the prosthetic device by measuring the vertical movement of the limb relative to the socket wall, the pressure on the limb, changes in the circumference of the limb during the day, and the water content in the tissue.

“Eventually, we want to build a socket that can adjust automatically to the patient,” Huang explains. “To do that, we need the sensors to tell us when and how to adjust the socket. We plan to design a warning system first, then the sensor data will teach us how to adjust the interface automatically.”

The goal, says Wijesundara, is to create an adaptable interface that can improve comfort and fit regardless of the residual limb conditions, thus increasing quality of life for the user.

“We want everything to adjust depending on whether the person is walking, running, or simply sitting down.”

On e of t h e wa y s to ensure treatments like sensor-laden prosthetics and stem cell-attracting nanoscaffolds succeed is by patients following proper post-surgery procedures. But get-ting to the doctor’s office can be difficult for soldiers suffering from PTSD or other injuries.

Manfred Huber may have the answer. The computer sci-ence and engineering associate professor is designing a reser-vation/reminder software system as part of a project that will eventually transport veterans on military bases to doctors’ appointments using driverless cars.

“We’re designing the system to be accessible through a cellphone app or kiosk at a stop along the route,” Dr. Huber says. “This system will help veterans who might be suffering from traumatic brain injury or PTSD. It will hopefully get the veterans where they need to be when they need to be there.”

He believes the system could be set up to send text-message reminders about upcoming appointments to the

veterans. The vets will also be surveyed on their experiences, and this information and feedback used to improve the per-formance of the reservation system.

Huber’s prototype will soon be installed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The controlled environment of an Army base should be an ideal testing ground, as there are fewer variables at play. His collaborator on the project is Robotic Research LLC, which is leading the Applied Robotics for Installation and Base Operations driverless vehicle program.

“Our soldiers have served their country proudly, and when they return home after traumatic injuries, it stands to reason that we should do all we can to make their lives as comfort-able as possible,” says Dr. Behbehani. “I am proud that we can offer that assistance.”

E a r l i e r t h i s y e a r , Military Times named UT Arlington as one of its top 100 colleges nationwide for veterans. That commitment is seen not only in the abundant educational and support services the University provides for student veterans, but also in the research conducted by its faculty. Whether they’re treating brain injuries, making prosthetics more comfortable, or helping heal osteoarthritis caused by war wounds, UT Arlington engineers are focused on improv-ing the lives of veterans everywhere.

Dr. Liu’s sensors use functional near-infrared spectroscopy to map brain activity responses.

20 | UTAENGINEER

HONORING A DISTIN-GUISHED ALUMNUSAs a part of UT Arling-ton’s 2014 Homecom-ing festivities, College of Engineering alum-nus Jim Greer (’84) was honored for his profes-sional achievements, community engage-ment, and loyalty to his alma mater at the 49th annual Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Greer is senior vice president and chief operating officer at Oncor Electric Delivery. A registered professional engineer in Texas, he has held numerous leadership positions at Oncor and its predecessor companies in the areas of engineering, opera-tions, and governmen-tal relations.

Greer is a mem-ber of the College of Engineering Board of Advisors and the Electrical Engineering Department Advisory Council.

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE COLLEGE’S ALUMNI AND DONORS BEYOND THE LAB

Civil Engineer Finds His Second Wind During his long career in construction with Thos. S. Byrne Inc., Wayne Bennett (’64 BS) headed major projects like the Fort Worth Water Gardens, the Kimbell Art Museum, two additions to the General Motors Assembly Plant, and a major addi-tion to the Amon Carter Museum of West-ern Art. But his greatest mark has been on the master’s track and field scene, where he’s won hundreds of medals, a

national title in the 100 meters, and a world title in the 4x100 meter relay.

Bennett began competing in master’s track at age 50 during a stressful time at work. Running helped him relax and has also led to lasting friendships.

“Everyone wants you to get better and treats you like an old friend,” he says. “I have friends I’ve made at the national level that have lasted to this day.”

Wayne Bennett, 78, has dominated the master’s

track and field scene, winning world titles and setting records.

Greer

UTAENGINEER | 21

Southwest Stocks Funding Education Dan Carey (’66 BS) spent his career developing maintenance programs and directing maintenance publications, scheduling, planning, and records de-partments. While working for Southwest Airlines, he purchased stock in the company, an investment that is now paying dividends for UT Arlington stu-dents. “I found that I could give stock to the University, deduct the full value of the stock, and neither I nor UT Arlington would pay taxes on it,” Carey says. “I wanted my gift to serve engineering students at my alma mater. I smile when I think that long after I’m gone, I’ll still be helping students here at UT Arlington.”

SPOTLIGHT

Stock donated by Dan and Carolyn Carey will help students for years to come.

ENDOWMENT HONORS LECTURER

Bernie Svihel was not one for idleness. Over the course of his 66-year career, he performed research with MIT that supported the WWII effort, helped develop classified air-to-air gunnery sights, designed underwater acoustic sensors for Naval Air Development, and—at age 77—taught electrical engineering students at UT Arlington.

Svihel kept his position as a senior lecturer until his death in 2008. While at the University, he created the Ann Svihel Memorial Endowment in honor of his wife to provide financial aid for electrical engineering students.

“Dad had seen many students struggle to get through school due to financial issues, so he created the endowment in honor of my mother to enable him to give back,” his son, Bill, says.

After Svihel’s death, Bill Svihel added his father’s name to the fund and worked to ensure it would be a perpetual endowment.

“When students suc-ceed,” he says, “they have the opportunity to make important contributions to society and make a difference in their own right.”

Bill Svihel

22 | UTAENGINEER

MOre Alumni/Giving info

Greenes Give Back Mike Greene (’69 BS) and his wife, Janet, have given his hometown a resource that will help people in need for years to come. With aid from Ralph Hawkins (’73 BA), they helped build a new home for Community Link, a food pantry and resource center in Saginaw, Texas. “It is a mutually beneficial relationship,” Greene says. “Com-munity Link can offer more support to its clients thanks to the help UTA students provide, while the students themselves can benefit from using the skills they’re learning in the classroom in a real-world situation.”

SPOTLIGHT

ALUMNIBEYOND THE LABAlumnus Mike Greene and

his wife, Janet, are involved in Community Link, a

food pantry and resource center in Saginaw, Texas.

PAYING IT FORWARDWhen Cuong Nguyen was a first-year doctoral student, he benefited from a $1,000 scholarship. Now that he is an alumnus, he is ensuring that other deserving students have the same oppor-tunities he did.

Dr. Nguyen, who graduated last May, received a $1,000 scholarship six years ago from electrical engineering Professor J.-C. Chiao to work in his research lab. When he won UT Arlington’s Graduate Student Employee of the Year award last spring, he immediately donated the $1,000 prize back to the University to help other students as he’d been helped.

“I admired Dr. Chiao for assisting me, so I wanted to do the same,” Nguyen says

“It’s a small amount of money, but I hope it’ll help students be able to continue to do research and study at UT Arlington.”

Nguyen

UTAENGINEER | 23

CLASS NOTES UPDATES, NEWS, AND GOINGS-ON FROM ENGINEERING ALUMNI

1970 Frank Condron (BS, Mechanical Engineering) was the subject of a feature article in the Victoria Advocate about his hobby of restoring old clocks.

1989 Michael Brown (BS, Civil Engineering) was named 2015 Engineer of the Year by the DFW Mid-Cities Chapter of the Texas Society of Profes-sional Engineers. He is a project manager and team leader at TranSystems Corporation Consultants. Yossef Lahad (MS, Inter-disciplinary Studies) was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Bet-ter Office Solutions Ltd. He serves as director of JPI Group China, a lead-ing strategic planning firm, and is an active chairman for several startup com-panies. Since 2005, he has been an adjunct professor at the Hertzliya Interdisci-plinary Center at Tel-Aviv University.

1991 Steve Karman (PhD, Aerospace Engineer-ing) joined the Applied Research Team at Point-wise. He was previously a research professor at the University of Tennessee at

Chattanooga and spent 20 years at General Dynam-ics/Lockheed Martin. Todd Larson (MS, Civil Engineering) was hired as global director of engineering and quality at MWH Global. Homer Nazeran (PhD, Bio-medical Engineering) was selected as a recipient of the prestigious University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. He is a professor of electrical engineering at UT El Paso.

1996 Kathy Weygand Berek (MS, Civil Engineering) leads Burns & McDon-nell’s new water division out of its Houston office. She is a member of the Texas Water Conserva-tion Association, chairs the ethics committee for the Construction Management Associa-tion of America, and is a member of the American Water Works Association. William Hernandez (BS, Mechanical Engineering) was honored with the Lex Frieden Employ-ment Award by the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. He is a professor, dis-ability rights activist, and co-founder of Pro4Max, a

1964Six College of Engi-neering alumni were presented with 50-year alumni pins at a luncheon held in their honor during UTA’s Homecoming weekend in November: Marvin Applewhite (BS, Electrical Engineering) spent 28 years at Texas Instruments in various roles. Wayne Bennett (BS, Civil Engineering) worked in the construc-tion industry as an estima-tor and project manager with Thos. S. Byrne Inc. for more than 22 years.

Don Box (BS, Aerospace Engineering) worked at Chance Vought until 2000, then came out of retirement in 2001 to serve as a test operations manager for Lockheed Martin before retiring in 2008. Coy Garrett (BS, Mechanical Engineer-ing) spent time at LTV, Grumman Aerospace, and General Dynamics before forming Coy E. Garrett & Associates and Coy E. Garrett Development Cor-poration in 1984. Charles Goodman (BS, Electrical Engineering) began his

career with the Southern Company in 1971 as a senior research engineer and rose through the ranks to senior vice presi-dent for Generation Policy and chairman of the board for the FutureGen Industrial Alliance. Dois Webb (BS, Mechanical Engineering) made the Army his career, retiring in 1992 after 28 years. Upon leaving the service, he began working for the Texas Air Control Board, now the Texas Commis-sion on Environmental Quality.

In Memoriam1950s Jan Collmer (’54 AS, Science and Engineering; ’63 BS, Mathematics), 80, Jan. 13 in Dallas. Mr. Collmer founded Collmer Semiconductor in 1978 and was a co-founder of the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. He was inducted to the Col-lege of Engineering Hall of Achievement in 1992 and served on the Board of Advisors from 1994-97. He spent time on the University’s Development Board, was a member of the ARRI (now UTARI)

Advisory Council, and was a UTA Distinguished Alumnus.

1960s Byron Deryl Boucher (’63 BS, Mechanical Engineer-ing), 74, Dec. 13 in Burnet. Mr. Boucher ran his own business, Western Water Wells, until his retirement in 2003. He was also a past president of the Texas Water Well Association.

FACULTY AND STAFF Noel Everard, 90, Sept. 13, 2014, in Arlington. Dr.

Everard was a professor in the Civil Engineer-ing Department from its inception until his retire-ment and was its chair for nearly 15 years. France Meier, 86, Feb. 17 in Arlington. The industrial, manufacturing, and sys-tems engineering emeritus professor and chair devel-oped the department’s graduate program and saw its first master’s degree awarded. He also helped the Computer Science and Engineering Depart-ment develop its graduate program. He retired in

2000 and was awarded emeritus honors in 2001. Betty Nedderman, 89, Jan. 12 in Arlington. Mrs. Nedderman was the wife of President Emeritus Wendell Nedderman, founding dean of the College of Engineering. She was a Distinguished Honorary Alumna of the University and she and Dr. Nedderman were lifelong supporters of the college. Joseph Jerry Stanovsky, 86, Dec. 26 in Davenport, Fla. He was long-time professor of aerospace engineering.

assistant city manager for the city of Weather-ford. He has worked for the city since 2007 and has held the positions of utility civil engineer, city engineer, and director of water/wastewater and engineering.

2003 William Wallace (’07 MS, Computer Science and Engineering) was named vice president at Gold-man Sachs. He develops and maintains technical solutions to support the company’s real estate business.

2004 Gene Capps (BS, Civil Engineering) was named 2015 Young Engineer of the Year by the DFW

Mid-Cities Chapter of the Texas Society of Profes-sional Engineers. He is a project manager with Baird, Hampton, and Brown and serves as the TSPE Mid-Cities Chap-ter’s secretary. Daron Evans (MS, Biomedical Engineering) was named president and CEO of Nephros Inc.

2008 Caleb Milligan (BS, Civil Engineering) was named the Young Engineer of the Year by the Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Soci-ety of Professional Engi-neers. He is a licensed professional engineer, is employed at Dunaway Associates LP, and is the TSPE Fort Worth Chap-ter’s treasurer.

2010 Brandon Laird (BS, Industrial Engineering) was elected regional vice president of the south central region of the Institute of Indus-trial Engineers. He is a manufacturing engineer at Martin Sprocket and Gear Inc.

2013 Andrew Wilson (BS, Civil Engineer) is an engineer-in-training in the hydrau-lics and hydrology group at Peloton Land Solutions. He was named the Edmund Friedman Young Engineer of the Year by the Fort Worth branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is the group’s hospitality chair-man and webmaster.

Six alumni from Pakistan who majored in electrical and civil engineering visited campus for the first time in 40 years in April. From left: Mohammad Shaiq, Abbas Ali Khan, Jawaid Iqbal, Azizullah Shariff, Yousuf Jangda, and Arshad Rehman.

custom sports wheelchair company. He was one of the first two athletes to attend UTA on a full scholarship to play for the Movin’ Mavs wheelchair basketball team.

1999 Lawrence Whitman (PhD, Industrial Engineer-ing) was named dean of the College of Engineer-ing at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

2001 James Hotopp (BS, Civil Engineering) was named

24 | UTAENGINEER

As a n y in v entor will tell you, inspiration can come from unexpected places. For mechanical engineering Professor Cheng Luo and doctoral student Xin Heng, the beaks of shorebirds provided the spark that eventu-ally led to a device that collects water from dew and fog.

The idea came when Heng read an article describing how shorebirds use their long, hinged beaks to ferret around for food in the sand and water, then drive it into their throats by opening and closing their beaks. Heng wondered if he and Dr. Luo could replicate that process in the lab.

The duo successfully created an artificial beak from hinged, non-parallel glass plates that measured about 26 centimeters long by 10 centimeters wide. But when they tested it, they discovered something unexpected.

“When we made the artificial beaks, we observed that multiple water drops were transported by the narrow, beak-

like glass plates,” Luo says. “That made us think of whether we could harvest the water from fog and dew.”

The answer was yes: The team found that they could collect four tablespoons of water in a couple of hours, as the beak forces the condensation to the point where the two glass plates meet. The water is then pumped through a channel and the process repeated.

Luo and Heng believe their creation could help provide a sustainable solution for accumulating water in arid or semi-arid places, which make up about half of the world’s land mass.

“This research shows that innovative ideas can be triggered by the careful observation of seemingly unrelated phenom-ena,” engineering Dean Khosrow Behbehani says. “Collecting water from existing fog or dew using this novel method offers another alternative for places that are strapped for our most precious resource.”

Bird-BrainedNew water-collecting device modeled after the beaks of shorebirds.

RE-ENGINEERED A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT THE OBJECTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

SHAPE THE FUTURE

Students are UT Arlington’s most valuable resource. With your support, they can achieve great things. We’re preparing our engineering students to become tomorrow’s leaders and to make a lasting impact on society. The College of Engineering provides abundant opportunities for students to work alongside world-class faculty, explore creative solutions to real-world problems, and transform ideas into viable products that drive economic development.

UT Arlington is committed to providing a first-rate, affordable education for as many students as possible. But we need your help to continue this mission. Your gift could fund a professorship, provide valuable equipment for research and teaching, or help a student fulfill his or her academic dreams. By investing in the Excellence Now annual giving program, you create a consistent stream of support that shapes the future of deserving Mavericks who, in turn, shape the future of our world.

Make a gift online today at uta.edu/giving or call the Office of Development at 817-272-2584.

Road WarriorSince 2013, nearly 2 million simulated vehicles have passed over experimental sections of pavement at UT Arlington’s accelerated pavement testing center. There, Associate Professor Stefan Romanoschi and his team measure the durability of asphalt mixtures

containing recycled materials for TxDOT to determine whether they can extend a road’s life. “In Texas, we use 5 million tons of recycled asphalt mixes each year,” Dr. Romanoschi says. “By extending its lifespan by three years, we can save millions of dollars.”

CAMPUS UPDATE

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERINGBox 19019Arlington, TX 76019-0019

Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAIDBurlington, VT 05401

Permit No. 19