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Innovative Forward Thinking
UNT's commitment to bringing multiple perspectives together to solve society's most pressing problems has led to extraordinary results. Researchers from linguistics, journalism, psychology and chemistry are investigating ways to combat the insidious side effects of COVID-19, while faculty from artificial intelligence, fashion design and electrical engineering are collaborating to find new approaches to conditions such as decreased mobility, breast cancer and opioid abuse. Read more in the "Innovative Forward Thinking" cover story in the latest edition of UNT Research magazine, as well as other stories about how UNT researchers lead the way in confronting today's toughest challenges.
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 Protecting threatened fish species
Road work is more than just an inconvenience for the state's fish population. When roads cross streams and waterways, the flow of water can be accelerated by manmade obstacles such as pylons and culverts, which can prevent fish from swimming upstream. Ed Mager, UNT assistant professor of biological sciences, and his team are examining the swim velocities of four species considered to be of the greatest conservation need: Guadalupe Bass (the state fish of Texas), Guadalupe Roundnose Minnow, Guadalupe Darter and Plateau Shiner. The research, part of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's River Conservation Program, will be used to inform the planning of future waterway crossings.
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| Earning prestigious Powe award |
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Yijie Jiang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, earned the prestigious 2020 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities for his research into passive control of internal structures in 3D printed composites. He will explore a new method of the 3D printing process that could result in better performance of composite materials. Jiang, a member of UNT's Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing, says the technology has wide applications, depending on the design used, including lightweight protective layers for aerospace and softer, more flexible materials that could be used in robotics.
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| Creating better sensors |
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Haifeng Zhang, professor of mechanical engineering, is a co-principal investigator in a new $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. He and other researchers will develop and fabricate an in-situ sensor for use during the additive manufacturing process that will be used to assess the quality and material properties of parts earlier in the process. "We're going to use ultrasonic technology to monitor the material microstructure, which is an indicator of the part quality," Zhang says. He also recently received a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Center to develop sensors to be embedded in masks for mine workers that could detect leaks.
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| Modeling hyperglycemia |
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Pamela Padilla, associate vice president of research and innovation, and three of her Ph.D. students, Saifun "Ripa" Nahar, Manuel Ruiz and Jose Robledo, are using the C. elegans genetic model system to study how genes function in hyperglycemia, a leading indicator of Type 2 diabetes. Rajeev Azad, associate professor of mathematics, also is a collaborator on the project and is using computational tools to analyze the resulting large data sets. You can learn more about the team's research at the 15:40 mark in Episode 17 of UNT Pod, "Diabetes Awareness."
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| Tracking turtles |
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Ecology master's student Sara van der Leek is the lead investigator on a project working to save the disappearing turtle population in the North Texas region — the three-toed box turtle is classified as one of the state's "Species of Greatest Conservation Need." Van der Leek and her team have been tracking adult turtles and raising young turtles to adolescence so that they can be reintroduced into their natural habitat. See a video about her research on how the box turtle moves that will ensure that the Three-toed Box Turtle is around for a long time.
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