Office of Research and Economic Development:University of North Texas
Recent Notification of Awards
Highlighted Awards
US Air Force Awards Equipment funds to Chemistry Assistant Professors
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) has awarded Dr. Guido Verbeck and Dr. Thomas Scharf $244,516 to purchase a Varian 820 Inductively-coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) with Cetac Laser Ablation System. This instrument is “well suited to support both synthetic chemistry and new materials, which is the strength of the Material Science and Chemistry departments.” This acquisition will greatly enhance the support instrumentation available to students and researchers at UNT and surrounding educational institutions.
Texas Digital Newspaper Project Receives Funding to Continue
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded $399,790 to Cathy Hartman, Assistant Dean of Libraries, and Mark Phillips, Head of The Portal to Texas History Digital Products Unit, to continue their efforts, which began in 2007, to digitize newspaper pages. The University of North Texas will work closely with the Center for American History at the University of Texas to digitize newspaper pages that “reflect the political and economic history of the state; provide coverage for major regions of the state, including most major population areas; and have a broad chronological span” as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program sponsored by NEH.
UNT Political Science Professor Studies Insurgencies
Dr. Idean Salehyan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, has been awarded $10,357 by the US Army War College to study “External Support for Insurgencies and the Escalation of Regional Conflict.” This research will analyze cases in which civil wars have escalated into international crises (e.g. Israel, Rwanda), and contrasts them with cases of successful regional cooperation to contain transnational insurgences (e.g. Central America, North-east India). Dr. Salehyan will outline “best-practices,” drawing from past successes, and will develop policy recommendations for dealing with current crises. This information will be vital in dealing with the current civil wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Sudan, and Colombia, among others, which all share the common feature of transnationally organized rebel groups that span national boundaries and make counterinsurgency operations difficult.
UNT Receives almost $2.2 Million for Aerospace Research
The Air Force Research Laboratory has presented UNT with almost $2.2 million to develop the Institute for Science and Engineering Simulation (ISES). The primary purpose of this project is to perform modeling and simulation on fatigue cracking in structurally significant aircraft components with the goal of extending the flight life of current and future military aircraft, and ensuring the safety and success for the US military and personnel. With the increased demand for support requirements on overseas missions, including Iraq and Afganistan, the material stress on US Air Force aircrafts has been amplified.
The ISES, a leading-edge facility for research and education on simulation techniques and tools, will be run by Dr. Raj Banerjee (Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering), Dr. Alan Needleman (Visiting Professor, Materials Science and Engineering), Dr. Angela Wilson (Associate Professor, Chemistry) and Dr. Thomas Scharf (Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering). ISES will also serve as a hub to connect experimental, characterization and simulation activities on collaborative projects, and to provide short courses and workshops throughout North Texas and beyond.
NSF Awards Chemistry Professor to Build Rare Research Equipment
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Dr. Stephen A. Cooke, has been awarded the prestigious Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities for Instrument Development award from the National Science Foundation totaling $320,758. Dr. Cooke will be working to build a Pulsed Nozzle, Fourier Transform Rotational Spectrometer operable below 1000 MHz. This machine will be able to observe and research molecules at a higher resolution than ever possible and it may be the only one of its kind in the world. The new instrument will greatly enhance UNT’s research infrastructure and will provide an important and unique educational experience for students.
US Department of Energy Sponsors Carbon Dioxide Study
Dr. Angela Wilson, Associate Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded $717,000 by the US Department of Energy for a two year research project to model fundamental carbon dioxide chemistry relevant to its utilization and storage. High level quantum mechanics simulations will be utilized to accurately quantify the thermodynamics and kinetics of carbon dioxide reactions with baseline materials relevant to the increased catalytic usage of this material and also to chemical interactions of significance in environmental chemistry and sequestering technology scenarios. This research could have vital societal and environmental impact on strategies to reduce the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Dr. Wilson will be joined in her research by Co-PI Dr. Thomas Cundari, Professor of Chemistry. (09032008)
Autism Personnel Project Sponsored by US Department of Education
Dr. Smita Mehta, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, has been awarded $799,430 from the US Department of Education for a four year research project. This project, called Project DART: Distributed Education for Autism Personnel in Rural Texas, will recruit, prepare, retain, evaluate, mentor and graduate highly qualified personnel from rural communities of Texas in the area of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Project DART intends to extend UNT’s Master’s Degree Program in Autism Intervention to reach the vast number of special education teachers and parents who live in rural parts of Texas and currently don’t have access to high quality, comprehensive autism training. This goal will be accomplished by utilizing distributed educational technologies and instructional formats, such as blogging, journaling, and simulations. (09032008)
Dean of Library and Information Sciences Awarded
Dr. Herman Totten, Dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences, has been awarded $448,000 for a project entitled “Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the Digital Age: Diversifying Librarianship in the South” from Emory University. Dean Totten “will be actively involved in curriculum design and recruiting students.” He will also teach the first core course in the program. (09032008)
Other Recent Awards
PI/dept: Kennedy, James/Biology
Sponsor: City of Denton
Project Title: “Guidelines for the Surveillance of Mosquitoes and Arboviruses, including West Nile Virus, in the City of Denton”
Project Period: 1/28/09 – 12/31/09
Project Award Amount: $13,036
PI/dept: Kavi, Krishna/Computer Sciences (CSE)
Co-PI/dept: Akl, Robert/CSE; Sweany, Philip/CSE
Sponsor: NSF
Project Title: “IUCRC Center Proposal: Net-Centric Software and Systems”
Project Period: 3/1/09 – 2/28/10
Project Award Amount: $59,891
PI/dept: Davenport, Beverly/Anthropology
Co-PI/dept: Henry, Marvin/Anthropology
Sponsor: NSF
Project Title: “REU Site: Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates”
Project Period: 4/1/09 – 3/31/12
Project Award Amount: $294,545
PI/dept: Scott B. Martin/ Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation (KHPR)
Co-PI/dept: Christy A. Greenleaf, Trent A. Petrie/KHPR, Psychology
Sponsor: National Association for Sport and Physical Education
Project Title: Mental and Physical Health Effects on Adolescents’ Academics
Project Period: 1/1/09 – 12/31/11
Project Award Amount: $30,000.00
PI: Taylor, Robert; W.W. Caruth, JR Dallas Police Institute
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
Project Title: “Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT)”
Project Period: 9/1/08 – 8/31/09
PI/dept: David M Keathly, Computer Science and Engineering
Sponsor: Collin County Community College District
Project Title: Convergence Technology Center
Project Period: 8/01/09 – 7/31/09
Project Award Amount: $ 10,422.00
PI/dept: Paul Ruggiere/ Survey Research Center
Sponsor: Providence Associates
Project Title: Rancho Mirage Library Survey
Project Period: 1/26/09 – 4/30/09
Project Award Amount: $ 10,000.00
PI/dept: Paul Ruggiere/ Survey Research Center
Sponsor: City of Rowlett
Project Title: 2009 City of Rowlett Citizen Survey
Project Period: 1/01/09 – 4/30/09
Project Award Amount: $ 16,042.00
For a list of past awards please visit Awards Report page
Last Updated: April, 2009
Click here to see Previous Awards