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"UTD" redirects here. For other uses, see UTD (disambiguation).

University of Texas at Dallas

File:Utdallas seal small.png
Motto	Disciplina praesidium civitatis (Latin: Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy)
Type	State university
Established	1969
President	Dr. David Daniel
Provost	Dr. B. Hobson Wildenthal
Academic staff	858 (Fall 2007)
Students	14,556
Undergraduates	9,266
Postgraduates	5,290
Location	Richardson , Texas , USA
Campus	Suburban, 455 acres (1.8 km²)
Radio	Radio UTD
Colors	Green and Orange
Mascot
Website	www.utdallas.edu
UTD Logo UTD Logo

The University of Texas at Dallas, often called UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. Despite its name, the UTD main campus is located in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, United States, just north of the Dallas city limits. A satellite location (the Callier Center for Communication Disorders) of UT Dallas is located adjacent to the UT Southwestern campus in central Dallas.

The university is known for its computer science, natural science, engineering, cognitive science, and mathematics programs, and its students' average SAT scores is among the highest of any public university in the state. It ranks third among public universities in Texas in the percentage of National Merit Scholars in its freshman class. UTD also is known for its graduate programs in international management, economics and political economy, which offer both masters and doctoral programs. Due to its strong academic programs and advanced research, it has earned the reputation of a premier institute for advanced study in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Its individual faculty, which includes members of the United States National Academies of Science and Engineering and winners of the Nobel Prize, are well known in industry circles as authorities in their respective disciplines, especially in the STEM fields. UTD is located in the heart of Telecom Corridor, and has its roots in the development of the Metroplex's high tech industry.

History

Before World War II, Eugene McDermott, Cecil Green and J. Erik Jonsson, the founders of Geophysical Services, Inc., established Texas Instruments in order to focus on designing instruments for tracking enemy planes and submarines. Because the company was forced to recruit engineering talent from other states during its expansion, the founders observed in 1959 that "To grow industrially, the region must grow academically; it must provide the intellectual atmosphere, which will allow it to compete in the new industries dependent on highly trained and creative minds ."

Therefore in 1961, the university actually originated as a research arm of Texas Instruments, named as the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, which recruited some of the best scientific talent in the nation. The institute (by then renamed the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies) conceived by Texas Instruments, was later donated to the University of Texas System by its founders and on June 13, 1969, Governor Preston Smith signed the bill creating the University of Texas at Dallas. By law, UTD conferred only graduate degrees until 1975. Upper-division undergraduate students were allowed to start enrolling in UTD starting in 1974. In 1986, UTD established the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, which currently possesses the largest undergraduate enrollment in the university. Eventually, freshmen and sophomores were allowed by legislative decree in 1990. More recently, the university established the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program in September 2000, which provides generous scholarships to twenty of the nation's brightest students attending the campus each year.

University presidents

• Francis S. Johnson, interim (1969-1971)
• Bryce Jordan (1971-1981)
• Alexander L. Clark, interim (1981-1982)
• Robert Rutford (1982-1994)
• Franklyn Jenifer (1994-2005)
• David E. Daniel (2005-present)

Traditions

Some of the traditions that give UT Dallas its distinctive flavor are Homecoming, Annual Oozeball Tournament, Ceremonial Mace, Legacy Lane, Welcome Week, Sounds of Class, and Family Day.

Recently added is the Spirit Rock, on the mall between the Jonsson and Green buildings. Students and organizations are allowed to paint whatever they like on the rock, provided it conforms to all rules of student conduct.

Campus

Although a relatively young institution, the university has grown quickly. Having a larger campus than the UT System's flagship school, University of Texas at Austin, there is plenty room for growth.The area controlled by UTD totals 866 acres (3.5 km²), with half of that (460 acres or 1.9 km²) designated as the real limit to "campus" development. The remainder is held and strategically subdivided and sold over time to increase the University's endowment.

Typical architecture

UTD NSERL Building

Early architecture on the campus exhibits typical characteristics of Brutalism which was a popular civic style when the structures were designed and built. In accordance with this style many of the early buildings are pale, off-white, precast concrete with repetitive structures. Later architecture exhibits late modern or postmodern features of bronze glass, bronze aluminum frames, and include unadorned geometric shapes. Examples of later modern styling on campus are the Engineering and Computer Science building, the School of Management, the activities center, Cecil and Ida Green Center, the administration building and the new Natural Science and Engineering Research Lab building. These are unique in appearance, with marbled floors, large glass windows, unorthodox layouts, and in the case of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Lab, rather colorful. Facilitating rapid growth, there are also two temporary prefabricated units that serve as classrooms for many of the advanced math and science courses.

Many of the buildings are connected by a series of aerial walkways, so it is possible to walk from one side of campus to the other without exiting the buildings. The layout of the Jonsson building is particularly unusual, as its first and second floors are split by the Jonsson Performance Hall, the location of all University theatrical performances until the recent addition of the University Theater.

Landscaping

Starting in September 2006, the 30-million dollar UTD Campus Landscape Enhancement Project, largely funded by the wife of founder Eugene McDermott, is meant to enhance the current feel of campus. The project will encompass all aspects of landscaping on the 500-acre (2.0 km²) campus.

The first of several enhancements to be made will involve UTD’s campus perimeter and entrance roads, as well as the central plaza, where the major north-south and east-west pedestrian routes meet. Additions to the campus perimeter and entrance roads could include planting, fencing, landscaping, lighting and signage.

World-renowned landscaping firm Peter Walker and Partners is spearheading the project. PWP is also known for creating the 1,000-acre (4.0 km²) Millennium Park in Sydney, Australia for the 2000 summer Olympics. They are also in charge of the World Trade Center Memorial Park. Other projects include the Nasher Sculpture Garden at the Dallas Museum of Arts.

Since the beginning of President Daniel's tenure at UTD, picnic tables were erected near the Multi Purpose building, new campus signs have been constructed at both Waterview Pkwy. and Floyd Rd. intersecting with Campbell Rd, and replacement of the walkway tiles has been completed.

Residential housing

On-campus housing for students is provided in Waterview Park, generally referred to simply as Waterview, a complex of 1,297 apartments spread across 9 phases. Phase VIII houses all freshmen who choose to live on campus. Apartments are shared by up to four students, and have individual hygiene and cooking facilities, as well as wireless network access. Leisure facilities, including clubhouses and pools, are shared between the residents of each building.

Waterview has attracted a certain amount of controversy, being dubbed "the Dorm from Hell" in an April 2005 article in The Dallas Observer. The article criticised the apartment complex as poorly designed, poorly maintained, and a hotbed of violent crime. The Dallas Observer's cover showed a man smothering a woman with chloroform, a reference to a rape that occurred in the apartment complex. The accuracy of the article has been called into question, since it was written by an investigative journalism class at nearby Southern Methodist University. University authorities took the allegations seriously enough to institute an internal inquiry. In 2006 $874,000 dollars in repairs were recommended by an inspection agency that was hired in response to this article. These repairs included things as simple as replacing bad smoke alarms and many other general repairs. Most of the issues in that report have been taken care of, as UTD Mercury covered in their report one year later . Beginning in late 2007, half of the campus apartments were moved under the management of a different company and renamed as University Village.

Beginning in early 2008, construction will begin on a "living-learning" dormitory-style facility. Each suite will feature individual rooms connected to a common bath and lounge area. The facility is expected to house at least 400 students, with occupancy beginning in Fall 2009.

Building plans

• In August 2006, the UT System Board of Regents allocated $27 million for the construction of a new facility that will focus on research-based education in mathematics, science and engineering.
• A full renovation of the Founders and Founders West Annex Buildings
• A dining hall
• A new student services building
• A cluster of modern dormitories, which will resemble suites
• A Greek Village; consisting of a Greek center to house offices, meeting rooms, guest quarters and study rooms, and Greek Lodgings
• Expansion of classrooms and offices
• The construction of a new arts and technology center
• 6,000 additional parking spaces, possibly including a parking garage on campus

Research

In 2007, UT Dallas spent $46.5 million which currently places UTD research expenditure as the second highest, amongst non-medical institutions, in the University of Texas System for research funding. Current research is mostly centered in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science and the School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics. Much of the funding and support comes from Texas Instruments, UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT System, National Science Foundation, and NASA. For its work on cybersecurity, the university was designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research by the National Security Agency in 2008.

• The Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute was established in 2001 when Dr. Ray Baughman, a pioneering nanotechnologist, became the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry and director of the university's NanoTech Institute. In 2007, it was renamed in memory of the late Alan G. MacDiarmid, who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Alan Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa. The research center is recognized for its work on carbon nanotube yarns, transparent electrically conducting sheets, and alcohol-powered artificial muscles.
• Callier Center for Communication Disorders
• Center for BrainHealth
• Center for Lithospheric Studies (CLS)

• The Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory (NSERL), a four-story, 192,000-square-foot (17,800 m²) research facility, was completed in December 2006 after two years of construction. Including ISO 7 cleanroom facilities, the $85 million building provides space for research from the university's departments of chemistry, biology, physics, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and behavioral and brain sciences. It also houses the Nanoelectronics Materials Laboratory, which conducts research into materials for integrated circuits used in technologies such as computers, mobile phones, and research into low-cost materials for organic electronics . One of NSERL's unique architectural features are the colorful anodized stainless steel shingles that cover 15% of the building’s façade. The spectrum of colors on the shingles is produced by the play of light on an oxide layer, which also protects them from corrosion.
• Sickle Cell Disease Research Center (SCDRC)

• Research in space science has been a hallmark of the university since its inception as the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies in 1964. The William B. Hanson Center for Space Studies (CSS), affiliated with the Department of Physics, conducts research in space plasma physics. It has its roots in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Laboratory of the university's predecessor. The center also conducts a NASA-sponsored mission, Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI), which was launched in April 2008 in cooperation with the United States Air Force. CINDI, which is part of the payload for the Communication and Navigation Outage Forecast System program, seeks to uncover information about the equatorial plasma bubbles that interrupt radio signals. Furthermore, under the leadership of Dr. John H. Hoffman, the center designed the mass spectrometer for the Phoenix Mars Lander as part of the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) experiment in cooperation with the University of Arizona.

Student Government

The UT-Dallas Student Government is the official voice of the student body and acts on its behalf as authorized by the University of Texas System Board of Regents. As a "recognized forum of student opinion," Student Government makes recommendations to the Board of Regents and the University, takes positions on non-University issues pertinent to students, obtains feedback from students, and performs other services as needed.

Student Senate

The business of Student Government is carried about by a Student Senate that is elected annually durin the Spring semester. There are 44 members of Senate: the President, Vice President, seven freshmen Senators appointed from Residential Senate, seven sophomores elected at-large, one junior and one senior from each of the University's seven schools, and fourteen graduate students. The Executive Committee comprises the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairmen of each standing committee. Any seats unfilled after elections or vacated during the year are filled by Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

The Senate meets monthly during the summer and bimonthly during the Fall and Spring semesters. It conducts business formally according to Robert's Rules of Order. Visitors are permitted to speak at the beginning of each meeting and always permitted to observe.

Student Business Alliance

The Student-Business Alliance is a discount program established and maintained by Student Government. It provides advertising to off-campus vendors in exchange for special discounts to students, faculty, and staff of the University. Approximately 60 business currently participate in the program.

Student Attorneys

Student Government employs a general attorney and an immigration attorney who are available for students to consult at no cost. The general attorney assists with such topics as landlond-tenant disputes, family law, divorces, contractual controversies, consumer protection questions, traffic accidents, and minor criminal matters. The immigration attorney will discuss any aspect of United States immigration and nationality law.

Student media

Student newspapers

• The UTD Mercury

The UTD Mercury is the official student newspaper of the University of Texas at Dallas since 1980. The UTD Mercury is published in 7,000 copies at two week intervals on Mondays during the fall and spring semesters except holidays and exam periods, and once every three weeks during the summer. Copies of the current publication can be picked up for free around campus or by stopping in the newsroom for additional copies.

• A Modest Proposal

In 2004, partly as a response to The UTD Mercury's unwillingness to allow part-time contributors, another student newspaper named A Modest Proposal (AMP) was formed. In contrast to The UTD Mercury which is almost all news articles, AMP features mostly editorial content. AMP is published once a month, eight times a year. Any student, faculty, or staff of UTD can contribute to the paper. Up to five editors are selected in each semester by the contributing body of AMP, and they serve the duration of the semester. Copies of AMP are available for free at the first of each month around the campus, and can also be downloaded in PDF format from their website.

Radio UTD

Main article: Radio UTD

Radio UTD, the university's student-run radio station, is a young but growing force in college radio. It offers streaming music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and also broadcasts UTD sports games. The station has been nominated twice for College Music Journal (CMJ) awards. Radio UTD has also been featured on XM Satellite Radio Channel 43 (XMU) on The Student Exchange Program. They are the youngest station to be chosen to "take over" the airwaves for this two hour show.

UTD in the Arts and Popular Culture

UTD offers a distinguished season of musical, theatrical and visual arts events, which are listed on the university's website: http://ah.utdallas.edu/news_events/series_calendar.html. The independent movie Primer was partially filmed at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2004 by Shane Carruth. The film went on to win the Grand Jury and the Alfred P. Sloan awards at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

Athletics

UTD Comets athletics logo

The University of Texas at Dallas athletics program started when UTD provisionally joined the NCAA Division III and the American Southwest Conference in 1998. UTD was granted full membership in the ASC in 2002, and since then the Comets have become perennial title contenders in several sports including men's and women's soccer, baseball, men's tennis, softball, men's basketball and most recently volleyball. Additionally, athletes from several individual sports have made their mark on conference competition.

During the 2002 inaugural season, the men's and women's soccer teams competed for conference championships. The women won the 2002 ASC title and UTD ended up hosting the conference tournament as well as the first round of NCAA playoffs in UTD's first year as active members. The success continued in 2003-04 when men's and women's soccer, men's basketball, baseball and softball all advanced to the post-season.

In 2005, the UTD Athletic Program claimed three ASC Championships: men's soccer and men's basketball as well as a co-championship in women's soccer. The men's soccer and basketball teams advanced to the NCAA Division III national playoffs in their sports. Baseball and softball also made its third consecutive appearance in the ASC post-season tournament.

In 2006, the Comets women's volleyball team claimed an ASC East Division regular season co-championship (shared with East Texas Baptist University). On 20 December, the Comets men's basketball team upset the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks 78-76 at UT Arlington's Texas Hall and became the first Division III team to defeat a Division I basketball team during the 2006-2007 season.

In 2007, the men's soccer team won the ASC championship, advancing to the NCAA tournament. Having 8 new team players as starters and only 3 veterans, the Comets led by top goal scorers Kevin White from Houston and Mihai Cotet from Braila, Romania led the team to its second ASC Tournament title in history. The men's tennis program had a very successful season, beating Division II teams and advancing as far as the ASC Conference final before falling to Hardin-Simmons.

To support UTD teams and build school spirit, UTD has the Power Dancers and cheerleaders that are lovingly called "hale boppers".

Intramural sports

UTD has grown as a collegiate level flag football powerhouse. Its 2004 Women's intramural flag football champs, the Killer Bees, went on to defeat many NCAA Division I schools at the Texas regional tournament, including UT Austin (in a shut-out win) where they were crowned regional champs. They progressed to the national championships where they finished third at the National Tournament in New Orleans, beating college football powerhouses Nebraska and North Carolina State along the way.

UTD played host to the 2005 Texas Regional Flag Football Tournament Nov. 11-13.

UTD played host to the 2007 National Flag Football Tournament. UTD teams placed in the Top 8 in the Men's and Co-Rec Division and again defeated the University of Texas at Austin, maintaining dominance in the UT System.

In the Fall of 1992 the university had an intercollegiate pistol team that won several placements in state tournaments and collegiate sectionals, in both individual and team events. The events competed in are as follows: air pistol, junior air pistol, women's air pistol, standard pistol, free pistol and women's sport pistol. One member of the team, Eric Colbath, was an All-American and went to Collegiate Nationals in 1993, 1994 and 1995 as an individual and Chris Jones went to Collegiate Nationals as an individual in 1995. The team disbanded at the end of Spring 1995 when the core members graduated.

Football team

The school has never participated in NCAA football. It is a running joke with students and alumni that their football team remains "undefeated". T-shirts featuring the school logo, a football, and the words "Still Undefeated" are sold at the campus bookstore.

Billiard team

The Billiard team was organized by a group of students known as the BOC Crew. They spent most of their free time in the Student Union and PUB playing pool. They organized this group to help bring competition to the University. The UTD Billiard team won numerous trophies in all divisions: A, B and C ranks. They would compete in tournaments held at various Universities throughout Texas. Other events that the team would attend are the ACUI, NAC, and intramural tournaments.

Debate team

Operating under the auspices of the Office of Undergraduate Education, the UTD Debate Team is creating a tradition of success and excellence in college debate. The UTD debate team won the Cross Examination Debate Association's "Brady Lee Garrison Newcomer Sweepstakes Award" in Spring 1997. It has continued to grow into a nationally known and respected college debate team ever since then. The team hosted its first annual 'Fear and Loathing in Dallas' tournament in January 2004. It is now the largest annual regular season college tournament in the region with over 325 participants, coaches, and judges in attendance. UTD first qualified a team for the National Debate Tournament in 2004 and has qualified each year since. Members of UTD debate team come from across the country and most receive some level of merit-based scholarship.

Chess team

The internationally top-ranked UT Dallas chess team was launched nearly a decade ago under the direction of Timothy Redman, and it has quickly become a perennial contender for national championships. UTD's chess players have won or tied for the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship title for four out of the last five years, emblematic of the top college chess team in the Western Hemisphere. The university recruits worldwide for its chess team, and has been able to attract many International Master level players and currently includes two Grandmaster level players, Alejandro Ramirez and Magesh Panchanathan. The UTD chess team repeatedly won the Southwest Collegiate Championship in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, and 2003. It also won the Transatlantic Cup in November 2007, defeating European powerhouse University of Belgrade in an international chess match.

Academic programs

UTD offers seven different academic programs with various specific and interdisciplinary concentrations, granting bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.

School of Arts and Humanities

The School of Arts and Humanities (A&H) teaches courses in literature, foreign languages, history, philosophy, music, dance, drama, film, and visual arts. A&H also includes the Arts and Technology and Translation Studies programs. The school offers bachelors degrees in Literary Studies, Historical Studies, Arts & Humanities, Art & Performance, and Arts & Technology. The school grants masters degrees in Arts and Technology (MA and MFA), Historical Studies (MA), and Humanities (MA and MAT) and a doctorate in the Humanities (PhD).

School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences

The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) focuses on the study of human development, including perception, cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and psychological processes. BBS includes the Callier Center for Communication Disorders which has clinical and neuroscience facilities for research in the communication sciences and disorders and the Center for BrainHealth which uses research and clinical treatment programs to understand the human brain, its healthy function, and its ability to protect and heal itself. BBS offers bachelors degrees in Psychology, Child and Learning Development, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. The school awards graduate degrees in Applied Cognition and Neurosciences (MS and PhD), Audiology (PhD), Communication Disorders (MS and PhD), Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders (MS), and Psychological Sciences (MS and PhD). The university's graduate audiology program is ranked 4th in the nation, and its graduate speech-pathology program is ranked 12th.

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) offers courses and programs in criminology, economics, geography and geospatial sciences, political science, public affairs, public policy and political economy, and sociology. UTD became the first university in Texas to implement a PhD Criminology program on Octber 26, 2006, when its program was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The school grants degrees in Applied Sociology (MS), Constitutional Law Studies (MA), Criminology (BA, MS, PhD), Economics (BA, BS, MS, PhD), Geography (BA), Geospatial Information Sciences (MS, PhD), International Political Economy (BA, BS, MS), Legislative Studies (MA), Public Affairs (BS, MPA, PhD), Public Policy (MPP), Public Policy and Political Economy (PhD), Political Science (BA, PhD), and Sociology (BA).

The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science

The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science houses the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering departments as well as UTD's Computer Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Software Engineering, and Telecommunications Engineering programs. The school offers degrees in Computer Engineering (BS, MS, PhD), Computer Science (BS, MS, PhD), Electrical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD), Engineering Management (MBA, MS), Materials Science & Engineering (MS, PhD), Mechanical Engineering (BS, MS), Software Engineering (BS, MS, PhD), and Telecommunications Engineering (BS, MS, PhD). The university's computer science program is ranked 3rd in state and 29th nationally. Its graduate program in software engineering is ranked 2nd in the state and 24th in the world.The school is currently developing new programs in bioengineering, chemical engineering, and systems engineering.

Industrial Practice Programs

The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science provides students with an internship/co-op program called "Industrial Practice Programs", or IPP. Employers registered with IPP send internship/co-op requests to the program. IPP then compiles a list of students whose skill sets match those required by the employer and sends the list to the employer for review.

School of Interdisciplinary Studies

The School of Interdisciplinary Studies provides interdisciplinary programs encouraging students to understand and integrate the liberal arts and sciences. The school also offers a teacher certification program. General Studies grants degrees in American Studies (BA), Gender Studies (BA), and Interdisciplinary Studies (BA, BS, MA).

School of Management

The School of Management is the business and management school at UTD, offering courses in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, organizational management, and international business. The school offers several MBA programs, including a 16-month Cohort MBA, professional MBA, and Executive Education MBA. The school grants degrees in Accounting and Information Management (BS, MS), Business Administration (BS, MBA), Finance (BS, MS), Healthcare Management (MS), Information Technology and Management (MS), International Management Studies (MA, PhD), Management and Administrative Sciences (MS), Management Sciences (PhD), and Supply Chain Management (MS).

The School of Management is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. According to Financial Times, the school ranks 21st in the world in research productivity. Also, Financial Times ranks UTD's Executive MBA (EMBA) Program first in the state and tied for 10th place nationally with Georgetown University, and the 35th in the world.

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

The School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics offers courses in biology, chemistry, earth science, mathematics, and physics. The school grants degrees in Applied Physics (MS), Biochemistry (BS), Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (MS), Biology (BA, BS), Molecular and Cell Biology (MS, PhD), Biotechnology (MS), Chemistry (BA, BS, MS, PhD), Geosciences (BA, BS, MS, PhD), Mathematical Sciences (BS, MS, PhD), Applied Mathematics (BS, MS, PhD), Engineering Mathematics (MS), Statistics (BS, MS, PhD), Mathematics Education (MAT), Molecular Biology (BS), Physics (BA, BS, MS, PhD), and Science Education (MAT).

Notable Faculty

• David J. Allstot- notable authority on analog circuit design.
• Ray H. Baughman- materials scientist known for work on carbon nanotubes and artificial muscles.
• Brian Berry- British-American human geographer whose work on urban and regional geography has placed him as one of the most cited researchers in his field.
• Yves Chabal- notable authority on materials science.
• Juan E. González- microbiologist known for his discoveries in the mechanisms of bacteria communication.
• John H. Hoffman- space scientist who developed instruments for Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17, Pioneer Venus project, and Giotto mission; also designed the mass spectrometer for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission in May 2008.

• Russell A. Hulse- 1993 Nobel Prize winner in physics for discovery of the first binary pulsar.
• Polykarp Kusch- 1955 Nobel Prize winner in physics for determining that the magnetic moment of the electron is greater than its theoretical value.
• Stephen D. Levene- prominent biophysicist. DNA-Protein Interactions, DNA Looping, and DNA Topology.
• Alan G. MacDiarmid- 2000 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for research on conductive polymers.
• Wolfgang Rindler- leading astrophysicist in the field of general relativity, known for introducing the term "event horizon."
• Robert Xavier Rodriguez - American composer, best known for his eight operas
• Mark W. Spong- American roboticist notable for research on robotic control systems.

Alumni

• Harry D. Foster - Author of Assertion-Based Design and four other technical books; recipient of 2006 Accellera Technical Excellence Award; inventor of OVL (a form of assertion based verification); Chief Engineer for Mentor Graphics' Design Verification & Test Division; and serves as chair of the IEEE 1850 Property Specification Language (PSL) working group
• Sam Gilliland - director, chairman, and CEO of Sabre Holdings Corporation; president and CEO of Travelocity
• Alan Halliburton - president of Halliburton Investor Relations
• David Hanson - robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) researcher; created the world's first expressive walking humanoid robot
• Shannon Hughes - Runner-Up Finalist Cover Model on the NBC reality series Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search
• Dipak C. Jain - dean of the Kellogg School of Management and professor of marketing
• Merve Kavakçı - Elected into Turkish Parliament in 1999, but was not granted oath and was later revoked of Turkish citizenship. Is also the daughter of local Islamic Association of Texas Dallas Central Mosque Imam Yusuf Kavakçı. Currently a professor at George Washington University.
• Melendy Lovett - president of Texas Instruments (TI) Educational & Productivity Solutions and senior vice president of TI
• Richard D. McCullough - dean of the Mellon College of Science at Carnegie Mellon University
• James F. Reilly - NASA astronaut, Geosciences PhD, MS, and BS from UTD
• Molly Louise Shepard - American Playwright, BA Theatre, 1982, Dean's List.
• Yury Shulman - Chess Grandmaster.
• Mehul Thakker - Green Party candidate for California State Treasurer 2006.
• James Von Ehr- founder and CEO of Zyvex Corporation, the world’s first molecular nanotechnology company
• Jon M. Wallace- US Secret Service (Special Officer), featured in various photographs on the US Secret Service website (featured on the following links: Who We Are, Rowley Training Center (in both photos, notice the Comet wave from the rope, the bell is a symbol of going under-cover for USSS trainees), and Home Page (refresh may be required: in command center and in blue shirt "Police, United States Secret Service, Electronic Crimes Task Force,") in front of appointees. Global MBA 2007.

External links

• The University of Texas at Dallas
• UT-Dallas Student Government
• Radio UTD
• UTD Comets Athletics Home
• The UTD Mercury
• UTD Callier Center
• A Modest Proposal
• The Dorm From Hell - Dallas Observer