UNT

Telepresence Tech: Two Dallas Digital Pioneers Team Up to Launch Life-Size Peer-to-Peer Streaming Platform

by | Jul 24, 2024
Glass-Media founder Daniel Black and 900lbs founder Steve Deitz are bringing human scale to conversations—wherever you are—with PeerVsn. "Life-size scale provides more impact and focus than a half-filled browser window," Deitz says.

The duo plans to leverage their "second-mover advantage" to improve video conferencing and telepresence across industries.
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North Texas Cities Crush List of Best Real Estate Markets in U.S.
by | Aug 22, 2023
McKinney and Frisco rank No. 1 and No. 2 of 300 U.S. cities on WalletHub's list of "2023's Best Real-Estate Markets." See how close Denton and Allen came to the top in a list that tracked everything from home value forecasts to housing affordability to job growth rate.
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‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Opal Lee Receives Honorary Doctorate at UNT Commencement
by | May 15, 2023
It wasn't the first time Lee walked the stage at the university. Way back in 1963, she earned a master's degree in education at what was then known as North Texas State University.
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UNT and COMSovereign to Collaborate on 5G Edge-Centric Research Platform for Advanced Air Mobility and More
by | Feb 21, 2023
UNT and Dallas-based communications tech company COMSovereign are partnering to develop and launch a new 5G edge-centric infrastructure test platform, funded in part by a grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. With the new program, UNT's Dr. Kamesh Namuduri says his team will "be able to expand our focus on wireless connectivity and research into Advanced Air Mobility technologies including UAVs, where UNT is already actively engaged with an expanding network of industry and government partners."
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UNT, Workforce Commission to Use $12.7M Grant to Create Texas Beacons of Excellence

by | Nov 28, 2022

University of North Texas Workplace Inclusion & Sustainable Employment (UNT WISE), in partnership with Texas Workforce Commission, announced it will use a $12.7 million grant to create the Texas Beacons of Excellence to help employers enhance their skills in recruiting, retaining, and accommodating employees with disabilities.

The goal is to educate employers who use subminimum wage contracts about the benefits of competitive, integrated employment, according to a statement....

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The Last Word: UNT’s Calvin Henard on Engineering a Bacteria that ‘Eats’ Greenhouse Gases
In his lab at the BioDiscovery Institute, Henard engineers methanotrophic bacteria to convert methane gas into bioplastics, biofuels, and other products. While they're at it, the methanotrophs also consume carbon dioxide, another key ingredient causing climate change. With a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Agile BioFoundry, a national labs consortium, Henard has begun a three-year study into the beneficial bacteria, which can lead to a more sustainable way to produce fuels, plastics, and chemicals than by using petroleum.
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UNT Geographers Get $1.5M NSF Grant to Explore Tech’s Impact on Urban Forests

University of North Texas faculty members Alexandra Ponette-González and Matthew Fry will soon launch a a five-year study—backed by a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation—to explore how digital tools like i-Tree influence urban forest sustainability and equity....

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‘We Are Going to Change the World’: $150M Grant Fuels UNT Health Science Center’s Diversity-Focused Alzheimer’s Research
by | Oct 3, 2022
The funding from the National Institutes of Health will help UNT HSC at Fort Worth advance its ongoing research on how Alzheimer's disease affects different racial and ethnic groups. Sid O'Bryant, executive director of UNT HSC's Institute for Translational Research, said there's never been a large-scale study like this before. “This award and project are nothing short of a bio behavioral ‘moonshot’ program," adds Brian Gladue, HSC executive VP for research and innovation.
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UNT Dallas’ New Ryan Tower Is a Beacon of Promise in Southern Dallas

by | Sep 14, 2022
The 180-foot Ryan Tower stands at the heart of the UNT Dallas campus and can be seen for miles in every direction. Funded by a $2 million gift from UNT benefactors Amanda and G. Brint Ryan, the tower is meant to serve as "an icon of the university, a symbol for higher learning, and a prominent symbol of the community it serves." "For me, it symbolizes the heights our students and our future students will attain," UNT Dallas President said at the tower's ribbon-cutting.
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China’s NetDragon Has a New Robot CEO—and North Texas Ties
by | Sep 1, 2022
When the University of North Texas launched its NetDragon Digital Research Centre in 2018, it saw great things for the future. But one thing it may not have foreseen: Last week NetDragon—a Chinese mobile and online gaming developer—appointed an AI-powered virtual humanoid robot as its "Rotating CEO."
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The Last Word: Artist Dan Lam on Why She Moved to Dallas
Lam, who has bachelor of fine arts from UNT and a fine art masters from Arizona State, moved to Dallas three years ago. After teaching and doing workshops, she broke out as a successful artist by squishing away assiduously at her squishy art works in her studio, applying for residencies, establishing a great website, and conquering Instagram. 
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Medicine Delivered in Plant Seeds? UNT Researchers Get $1.4M Grant for a First-of-Its-Kind Study
by | Aug 17, 2022
The University of North Texas BioDiscovery Institute's $1.4 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation is seeding research in sustainable medicine—literally.

“What we're thinking long-term is that if plants can store medicines in seeds, you eat the seeds, and the medicine is already contained. You don't have all these factories, you don't need any chemicals—it's just there and available,” said UNT lead researcher Elizabeth Skellam.
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Frisco EDC’s First Director of Innovation Will Focus on Startups, Tech, and Venture Capital

by | Mar 25, 2022
Entrepreneur Jasmin Brand will take on the newly created role. The goal? To make Frisco a “major national hub” for venture capital and innovation.
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From Automated Airport Parking to On-Demand Rides, North Texas Boosts Autonomous Vehicle Capabilities
by | Mar 24, 2022
NCTCOG's Regional Transportation Council believes autonomous vehicles are part of the solution to North Texas' future.

From autonomous parking at DFW airport to self-driving DART shuttles to medication deliveries in McKinney—along with local hubs for Kodiak Robotics, Aurora, and TuSimple—the region could prove to be the "most robust, automated, and connected vehicle ecosystem in the country," says one official.
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Amazon Partners with Four North Texas Colleges and Universities on Fully Funded Tuition for Its Employees
by | Mar 3, 2022
Amazon's "Career Choice" partnerships with 140 universities and colleges across the country will provide fully funded college tuition opportunities to its 750,000 hourly U.S. employees. Today's announcement is part of Amazon's Upskilling 2025 pledge—a $1.2 billion commitment to upskill more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025.
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UNT’s ‘Delight’ Exhibition Celebrates Designs From Its Texas Fashion Collection
by | Feb 16, 2022
The exhibit is a curated selection of designer garments and accessories from UNT's collection of historic dress and high fashion from past centuries through the present—including designs by Todd Oldham, Vera Wang, Givenchy, Balenciaga, and many more.
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