Leaders and innovators

Supported by a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, alum Jennifer Williams ('11) is pursuing her interest in the environmental applications of engineering as a master's student at UNT. She says her professors helped her get the research experience she needed as an undergraduate to qualify for the award. Williams and mentor Miguel Acevedo, Regents Professor of electrical engineering, are among the students and faculty whose achievements in science, scholarship and the arts are featured in the 2013 UNT Research magazine.

"We strive to be a university at the forefront of new ideas and new technologies," President V. Lane Rawlins says. "And that means our students are in an environment that instills the knowledge and skills they need to excel."

Read UNT Research magazine.

Is nature the answer?

Renewable and zero energy, greener tires, bioplastics grown in sugarcane and dry adhesives inspired by gecko feet — UNT researchers are working to develop technologies and products designed by nature or designed with nature in mind. In disciplines from engineering and plant science to environmental science and philosophy, faculty and students are distinguishing UNT as a premier place for green research.

Research support

UNT researchers are earning important grants to work on pressing problems.

With funding from the National Science Foundation and MITRE Corp., Yan Wan, assistant professor of electrical engineering, is developing an analytical model for air traffic flow management that would allow for greater automation. She also received an NSF EAGER grant to examine broader issues related to dynamic decision-making in infrastructure systems under uncertainty. Her research into large-scale networks may eventually help computer scientists predict and understand the spread of computer viruses.

Creative writing

UNT's creative writing program is making a national name for itself. Renowned faculty writers attract talented students, and the program also offers the Visiting Writers Series, new poetry prizes and a respected literary journal (pictured are faculty editor-in-chief Ann McCutchan, center, with doctoral students Hillary Stringer and Zach VandeZande).