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Minecraft
The blocky hospital in the MCAT prep course is a replica of Parkland Memorial in Dallas. [Image: UT Dallas]
UTD Pre-Med Students Are Treating Virtual Patients in a Minecraft World
by David Seeley | Apr 30, 2026
Using a digital twin of Parkland Memorial Hospital for its blocky hospital, UTD's MCAT prep course playbook was designed by IvyBee, a Plano-based startup founded and led by Dr. Walter Voit, founder of UTD's Center for Engineering Innovation.
by Lance Murray |
Apr 4, 2025
Hollywood's "A Minecraft Movie" killed it with a record $163 million opening weekend. Meanwhile, UT Dallas researchers have created their own world in Minecraft to develop educational games embedded in the blocky "digital sandbox"—and launched a new startup to advance their efforts.
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by UT Dallas |
Mar 3, 2025
UT Dallas researcher Dr. Walter Voit transformed Minecraft’s 170-million-player universe into an advanced virtual training ground—for students and for AI agents tested by DARPA. His team’s Polycraft World uses gameplay to turn classroom theory into real-world expertise, covering topics from synthetic organic chemistry to nuclear plants to semiconductor facilities.
Their new startup company, Pedegree Studios, has licensed the core technologies from the university to create a scalable digital pipeline for education and workforce development.
sponsored by The University of Texas at Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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by David Seeley |
May 31, 2024
The best-selling video game of all time has inspired a "real-life, in-person" adventure called Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue—and it's getting its global debut at a site in Plano on September 20. Attendees will go on an epic rescue mission "at the crossroads of game design, experiential storytelling, and high-tech multimedia," organizers say.
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[Photo: Courtesy SMU]
SMU Researchers, Gamers Partner on Cancer Research
by Lance Murray | Jun 5, 2017
Adding the processor power of the network of "Minecraft" gamers could double the amount of computer power devoted to the SMU research project.
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by Eric David |
Jun 20, 2016
Classic arcade games found a young audience at the Let's Play Expo in Plano.
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