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Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas, O.K. Carter Column

Posted on: Monday, 21 November 2005, 18:00 CST

By O.K. Carter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Nov. 20--UTA EXPANDS ITS RESEARCH EFFORTS: One of the most bogus urban myths circulating around these parts is the oft-repeated phrase that the University of Texas at Arlington is "the best kept secret in the Metroplex."

With more than 25,000 students currently enrolled -- and thousands more in assorted continuing education programs -- and with campuses in Arlington and Fort Worth and thousands of alumni scattered in the region and the world, UT-Arlington is not a secret.

What UT-Arlington doesn't get is enough credit. Not for its programs -- superlative nursing, engineering, business and urban studies curriculums come immediately to mind among many -- and particularly not enough plaudits for some of its cutting-edge research.

Provost Dana Dunn and Vice President for Research Ron Elsenbaumer are heavily involved in getting the word out about that research, the two most recently collaborating as publishers of the university's Research magazine, edited by Mark Permenter.

"Our research activities have expanded considerably during the last several years," Dunn notes in the magazine's foreword. "Since 2000, total research expenditures have increased 54 percent, and federally supported research has increased 211 percent."

Note as well: During that time frame enrollment increased 24 percent, while endowments grew 29 percent. Those are not secrets.

Some research examples highlighted in the magazine?

Three UT-Arlington biomedical engineers -- Karel Zuzak, Digant Dave and Hanli Liu -- have made significant inroads in developing noninvasive, painless optical procedures showing great promise in fighting diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

Psychology department professors such as Robert Gatchel, Perry Fuchs and Yuan Bo Peng are exploring pain management treatments for everything from fibromyalgia and cancer and chronic headaches to degenerating discs.

With just those two examples alone here's a bet. You know somebody or maybe several people with medical problems in those areas. Their research may be complex, but it is not ivory tower esoteric. The potential quality of life implications for all of us are enormous.

But not all the research is medical. Like science fiction heroes, two Arlington researchers and a former professor at the university are quietly developing highly technical ways to assist homeland security: These include sensors that can see through smoke or dust and detect toxic chemicals. Or monitor hard-to-patrol areas such as seaports or national borders. Meanwhile over at the university's Automatic and Robotics Institute, Director Harry Stephanou is blunt about what he sees as "a second Industrial Revolution under way."

Specifically he believes that an ongoing shift toward miniaturization has the potential to transition the U.S. toward a new manufacturing economy. This "nano" technology ranges from designing simple tools to make very small products to the creation of relatively small decision-making controls that mimic human processes. The technology is showing up everywhere, from cellphones and autos to commercial aircraft.

The trick for much of the research outlined in the magazine is how it will make the transition from academia to commercial application. Part of that answer rests with the university's Arlington Technology Incubator, developed in collaboration with the city and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.

"The ATI houses 20 active startup companies, many of which were derived from UT-Arlington technologies or formed by recent graduates," Elsenbaumer says.

Note: The strategy is paying off. Elsenbaumer says invention disclosures at the university have increased 300 percent since 2000, while the number of patents filed has increased 50 percent.

A line from the magazine probably says it best: What we have here are "Big ideas with a big impact." And that should be no secret.

You want to feel leading-edge cool about living in Arlington? Snag a copy of Research magazine, though it would be easier to simply check it out on the net at www.uta.edu/researchmagazine.

O.K. Carter's column appears Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. Carter also co-hosts P3: People, Politics and Possibilities at 9:30 nightly on Comcast cable channel 16. (817) 548-5428 okc@star-telegram.com

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Copyright (c) 2005, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)

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