The distance between The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in Richardson and the university’s Callier Center for Communication Disorders near downtown Dallas just shrank a bit. The 18-mile gap has been bridged by a new, high-speed, fiber-optic connection that will improve communications and operations between the two campuses and enhance research.
The new dedicated, leased link will carry voice, data and video traffic at a speed of one gigabit per second, with the potential in the future of rates as fast as 1.6 gigabits per second. The amount of information transmitted at those speeds in just a fraction of a second would take days to download via a typical home computer modem.
“The addition of this ultra-wide bandwidth connectivity between our main campus and the Callier Center is another step in our ongoing efforts to transform UTD into a world-class, internationally recognized center for education and research,” said Dr. Da Hsuan Feng, vice president of research and graduate education and a professor of physics at UTD. “It is an important part of an ongoing infrastructure improvement effort at the university that includes the construction and upgrading of classrooms, libraries, laboratories and other key facilities.”
“This improved communications capability will enable us to offer joint conferences, lectures and even courses involving the two locations,” said Dr. Ross J. Roeser, director of the Callier Center and professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders in the School of Human Development. “However, its real promise lies in research and other applications with high-bandwidth requirements. For instance, a clinician at Callier might discuss a patient with a researcher in Richardson while both view the same three-dimensional brain-scan images.
“This powerful new tool has the potential to bridge the physical separation between UTD and Callier, thus enabling more and richer collaborative efforts between the two campuses.”
Established in 1962, the Callier Center is renowned for advances in the treatment and prevention of communication disorders. The center is located on Inwood Road in Dallas, adjacent to major medical facilities such as The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, St. Paul Hospital and Parkland Hospital. Part of UTD’s School of Human Development, the center educates future clinicians and researchers, offers state-of-the-art clinical and educational services and conducts innovative research.
Housed within Callier are the Advanced Hearing Research Center, which conducts research on cochlear implants, hearing aids, auditory electrophysiology and neural imaging, and the Center for BrainHealth, which provides clinical programs and research and treatment of individuals with brain injury, progressive brain diseases and natural aging.
The Callier Center hopes to break ground later this year on a new satellite facility located on the UTD campus. The new center will offer services to residents of Northern Dallas and Collin Counties with speech, language or hearing problems.