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Summer in Review: Research, Student Achievements Take Center Stage

Summer News Center highlights

Yongping Zheng (pictured) and Dr. Kyeongjae Cho are exploring ways to expand the capacity of lithium-air batteries.

Over the summer, UT Dallas honored its past, released significant research findings, recognized high-achieving students and opened new doors to the scientific possibilities of the future. So as the first week of the fall semester starts, here are some of the News Center stories you may have missed since spring graduation:

Alumni Center: Construction began on the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, which is expected to open in 2017. Workers started the demolition of the Alexander Clark Center to make room for a new 200,000-square-foot engineering building that will be built on the site, and officials broke ground for two new student housing complexes on the southwest side of campus.

Battery Life: Dr. Kyeongjae Cho, professor of materials science and engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, discovered new materials that could lead to the development of cellphone and car batteries that last five times longer than current ones.

Brain Study: A team of researchers, led by Dr. Francesca Filbey, director of cognitive neuroscience research in addictive disorders at the Center for BrainHealth, found that long-term marijuana use changes the reward processes in the brain. 

Perfect Score: Neuroscience student Siddhartha “Sidd” Srivastava earned a perfect score on the Medical College Admissions Test, an achievement shared by fewer than 0.5 percent of those who take the test.

UT Dallas classroom

UT Dallas placed 32nd among all universities on Money Magazine’s list of the “50 Best Colleges You Can Actually Get Into.”

Bioengineering and Sciences Building: University and community leaders celebrated the official opening of the Bioengineering and Sciences Building, the largest academic building on campus.

Dyslexia Theory: A team of scientists led by Dr. Michael Kilgard showed that a gene associated with dyslexia is required for normal auditory processing of complex speech, adding weight to one of the theories behind the cause of the learning disorder.

Dean's List: For the spring 2016 semester, 1,174 undergraduates made the dean’s list. The list honors students who completed at least 12 credit hours during the semester with a GPA among the top 10 percent of all students within their respective schools. 

Best Value: Money Magazine ranked UT Dallas as one of the best values in American higher education, using 24 factors, including graduation rates, affordability and alumni success.

Presidential Streets: The University celebrated the legacies of former Presidents Dr. Franklyn Jenifer, Dr. Frank Johnson and Dr. Bryce Jordan by renaming three streets on campus after them.

Designs of a Champion: For the second time in a row, a team from UT Dallas received top honors in the student project competition at the 2016 Capstone Design Conference. Three UT Dallas teams were finalists, the most of any university.

Media Contact: The Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].

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