S

Improving Human Health

Researchers in UNT's Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering are working on medical devices and technology that will shape people's lives. Since its inception nearly 10 years ago, the department has become one of the fastest-growing programs at the university and is ranked ninth in the nation by BestValueSchools.org — further establishing UNT's reputation as a hub for leading innovative research. Researchers work in the 26,250-square-foot Biomedical Engineering Building, a premier learning space that opened in 2019 at UNT's Discovery Park and boasts cutting-edge equipment and lab space. Top health technology companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Alcon and Zimmer Biomet seek out graduates of the program. Students are drawn to the challenge of multidisciplinary research needed to advance health care. Read more about how the biomedical engineering program is preparing graduates for the rapidly changing marketplace through hands-on research for the future and watch a TEDxUNT talk from Melanie Ecker, an assistant professor in biomedical engineering.


Collaboration Spotlight
Additive Manufacturing Summer Outreach

For the second year in a row, the Institute for Transformative Education in Additive Manufacturing (ITEAM), the educational wing of UNT's Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM), partnered with Dallas-Fort Worth area community colleges and universities in Texas to host a Summer Outreach Program. During the two-week program that wrapped up last week, the students and teachers learned about the future of additive manufacturing through both in-class and hands-on laboratory experiences with CAAAM's state-of-the-art equipment. ITEAM offers an interdisciplinary additive manufacturing education integrating five critical areas: materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering and design, cybersecurity, supply chain logistics and data/decision sciences. Visit caaam.unt.edu to learn more and read how ITEAM is working to train tomorrow's workforce.


Research News
Ethically Sharing Book Usage Data

An international team led by UNT scholars has been awarded $1.2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to develop core scholarly infrastructure for the community governed sharing of quality, interoperable, open access book usage data. The OA Book Usage Data Trust project aims to make book usage data more accessible for libraries, presses, publishers and others interested in scholarly impact. Christina Drummond, an expert in data stewardship, has joined UNT Libraries as executive director of the OA Book Usage Data Trust and principal investigator of the research.


Hearing Aid Adoption

Researchers in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology in the College of Health and Public Service are working to understand how factors such as emotions, psychological well-being, social relationships and stress impact whether adults continue to use hearing aids once they're purchased. The study by Drs. Erin Schafer, Sharon Miller and Boji Lam — supported by a grant from the Hearing Industry Research Consortium — will include 40 participants between the ages of 50 and 85 who purchase hearing aids from the UNT Speech and Hearing Center.


Value Placed on Female-driven Films

Anecdotal and employment data illustrate the inequity for women in the film industry. Since 2016, Courtney Brannon Donoghue, an assistant professor in the Department of Media Arts, has been interviewing dozens of female directors, producers and writers at various stages of their careers to learn more about the systematic barriers throughout the production process that have kept them from bringing their stories to the screen. Her research has earned the backing from the National Endowment for the Humanities with a grant for faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.


Uncovering the Past

Faculty and a graduate student in the Department of History have earned a collection of significant awards and fellowships to help in teaching and informing new perspectives on the past. Associate Professor Andrew Torget has earned a U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award as well as a $50,000 Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship; Assistant Professor Christopher Todd will be a faculty fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University in the upcoming academic year; and Andrew Huebner, a doctoral student in history, has become the first UNT graduate student to be named a Boren Fellow.


Office of Research and Innovation

University of North Texas
1155 Union Circle #311070
Denton 76203-5017
940-565-2108

© 2022 UNT Research and Innovation is a publication of the University of North Texas Division of Research and Innovation and the Division of University Brand Strategy and Communications. Email us at untresearch@unt.edu.