ADVANCED MANUFACTURING 

A pronounced, long-term national need for innovative products, artificial intelligence-informed manufacturing, Internet-of-Things (IoT) for supply chain and manufacturing and related technologies exists. Advanced manufacturing fuses computational technologies, psychology and the social sciences and engineering to increase the flexibility, efficiency and scaling of the production of complex systems. Activities include the material processing of alloys to the production of parts made of composites, the manufacturing of commoditized products like semiconductors to customized complex products such as airplanes and lifecycle support to the retirement or recycling of systems. Activities also include optimizing network communication, all with a focus on human augmentation in assembly. Finally, this emerging thrust area contributes to workforce development for next-generation localized and distributed manufacturing capabilities.

THRUST HIGHLIGHT 

Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas’ Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science are currently utilizing more than $3.4 million worth of research funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for work aimed at creating more efficient paper manufacturing and facilitating advanced manufacturing of tiny quantum devices on a large scale.

ENERGY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 

Breakthroughs in energy generation, conversion, transmission and storage are critical for improving global living standards, spearheading economic advantage and ensuring long-term sustainability. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the World Materials Research Institutes Forum (WMRIF) have identified the following as key areas for environmental and energy issues research activity: efficient solar cells and photovoltaics, batteries, thermoelectric/multiferroic materials and clean energy fuels, including hydrogen production and storage. The Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas has dedicated researchers who explore energy production from diverse sources, with an end goal of maximizing output, distribution and storage in areas such as wind energy, solar cells and other renewable technology sources. The Jonsson School has achieved extensive growth in wind research stemming from nationally recognized faculty and center activities across multiple programs.

THRUST HIGHLIGHT 

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOE) recently awarded Jonsson School researchers $30 million to develop and commercialize new battery technologies and manufacturing processes and to create a prototype Energy Storage Systems Campus. Research facilities associated with this thrust include a state-of-the-art wind tunnel capable of replicating ambient atmospheric winds over wind turbines. Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress is providing $1.6 million to create a central space for research and activities for UTD’s Wind Energy Center.

HEALTH INNOVATIONS

North Texas is well-positioned to address persistent health care disparities via its ecosystem of hybrid public-private partnerships that successfully combine the core strengths of emerging biotech, engineering, clinical sciences, data science and health informatics scientific nodes and entrepreneurship. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is home to nationally renowned health care systems, including Baylor Scott and White Health, Texas Health Resources, Medical City Healthcare and UT Southwestern Medical Center, one of the nation’s top academic medical centers. Faculty at The University of Texas at Dallas’ Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science who are within this thrust area will also partner with the recently announced Dallas Customer Experience hub of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H. Innovations in this thrust include everything from fine-tuning hearing aid algorithms to designing flexible electronics and other materials to be implanted into the body to treat disease. The work also includes conducting research on biosensors, artificial intelligence-informed protocols for personalized medical care, biosensors, medical imaging and targeted therapies for enhanced disease treatment.

THRUST HIGHLIGHT 

Besides a joint graduate program, Jonsson School faculty share the new Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building with physicians and researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Faculty in the Texas Biomedical Device Center (TxBDC) at UT Dallas have made significant advancements in pain management treatments whose effectiveness have been verified in multiple clinical trials.

SEMICONDUCTOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A strength of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science since inception, continued innovation in semiconductor research is critical for national competitiveness. With its strong legacy of innovation and leadership in semiconductor research, leaders of The University of Texas at Dallas have partnered with Dallas area political and educational leaders to form the North Texas Semiconductor Workforce Development Consortium with the goal of tripling the conferring of semiconductor-related certificates and associate degrees over the next three years. The Jonsson School is also poised to participate in the recently passed federal CHIPS and Science Act, which provides funding to boost domestic research into and the manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States. Specific areas of innovation include ones in soft infrastructure such as human and digital resources and others in hard infrastructure — equipment and facilities. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metroplex is also home to many of the nation’s leading semiconductor corporations. The Jonsson School’s Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE), which is supported by SRC, a world-renowned technology consortium, has provided nationally recognized advancements in analog and mixed signal electronics, plus has an extensive history of successful industry engagement and nationwide research collaborations.

THRUST HIGHLIGHT 

The University offers its own Cleanroom Research Laboratory for semiconductor process research and research in the fields of microelectronics, electronic materials, nanotechnology, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), lithography, optics and other research areas that require the use of a particle-free environment.

TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 

Continuous advancement will improve the safety and efficiency of transportation — the movement of people and goods — and its related vehicle systems. Doing so requires solving frontier problems to attain better outcomes for sustainability and human health and safety to reduce barriers to equal access employment, education and health care. Research innovations include improved transportation management and infrastructure within a city, electric vehicles and human-based components concerning driver behavior and interactions between transportation modes and infrastructure. Vehicle system advancements include sustainable electric propulsion systems, onboard energy/battery storage, charging infrastructure and reliable connectivity among cars as cyber-physical agents. Emergent challenges encompass smart mobility, multimodal transportation system integration, data-driven supply chain management, grid management and electric vehicles, multimodal energy conversion and continuous human-machine learning interactions, known as human-in-the-loop. Jonsson School faculty performing research in these areas exert their efforts in all types of programs and participate in interdisciplinary collaborations with both city and industry partners.

THRUST HIGHLIGHT 

A partnership between UT Dallas and the City of Richardson has been established. This partnership intends to promote technology exchanges between the University, the City of Richardson and nearby industry in a shared space — the Richardson Innovation Quarter (IQ) — which recently opened to support colocated activities. Work at the IQ will include improving smart mobility to reduce traffic congestion.