UT Dallas

Researchers Build ‘Blocky” Twin of UTD in Minecraft for Digital Workforce Training

by | 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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Beyond Gaming: How Minecraft Became a Platform for Scientific Learning and AI Research
by | 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.
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From Fentanyl to DIY Food Safety: Dr. Shalini Prasad’s Groundbreaking Trifecta of Detection Devices
by | Jan 29, 2025
Combining cutting-edge research and real-world applications, the UT Dallas professor transforms public health with innovations in detection technology, including “a check engine light” for the human body. In collaboration with EnLiSense, the company she cofounded, Dr. Prasad combines chemistry with software and hardware to bring the technology to life as market-ready devices.
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UTD Researchers Develop At‑Home Sensors To Detect Food & Water Contaminants
by | Dec 3, 2024
The recent nationwide alert about E. coli-laced organic carrots is just the latest example that our food safety isn't guaranteed. Now a research team at UT Dallas is exploring a way that people can do a final check for contaminants—right in their own homes.
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Inspired by Seal Whiskers, a UT Dallas Professor Works to Keep Offshore Wind Turbines Safe

by | Nov 4, 2024
Offshore wind turbines are a growing ingredient in the race to develop clean and renewable energy sources. But the turbines—which are attached to the ocean floor with cables and "float" on platforms high above—face risks from high winds and harsh storms that lash the open sea. UT Dallas Assistant Professor Dr. Yaqing Jin has found a potential solution inspired by an unlikely source—seal whiskers. 
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UTDesign Shines at Tech Titans Gala, Winning Prestigious Tech Titans of the Future Award
by | Oct 22, 2024

UTDesign took home the Tech Titans of the Future – Community College/University award at the Tech Titans Gala 2024. The award, which included a cash prize, recognizes educational institutions that inspire and support students in choosing engineering and technology as their preferred career paths....

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‘Michael Jordan of Cricket’ Joins National Cricket League Ownership Group
by | Oct 7, 2024
"Comparable to Pele in soccer or Babe Ruth in baseball," India's Sachin Tendulkar is known as the greatest cricket batsman of all time. Today, amidst its ongoing inaugural Sixty Strikes tournament at UT Dallas, the NCL announced he has joined its ownership group. The legend is slated to fly to Dallas to present the tournament trophy himself.
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National Cricket League Announces Milestones Ahead of Sixty Strikes Tournament
by | Sep 27, 2024
The league announced a prestigious approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the appointment of cricket icon Haroon Lorgat as commissioner, and the backing of SEE Holdings, a Dubai-based leader in sustainability.
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Corporate CEO Winner, Hall of Famer Announced for the 2024 Tech Titans Awards

by | Aug 27, 2024
Four companies, four universities, and 32 individuals—including four high school teachers—are finalists for the 2024 Tech Titans Awards, which honor top innovators, adopters, and executors impacting the North Texas tech industry. The awards gala will be held Sept. 20 at the Renaissance Addison Hotel. Check out two honorees—and all the innovative finalists.
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New 5G Lab at Richardson IQ HQ to Lead U.S. Innovation Through Major Industry-Academia Consortium
by | Aug 20, 2024
"This is precisely the type of partnership we imagined for our innovation ecosystem," Richardson City Manager Don Magner said of the new lab, which is affiliated with UT Dallas' Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science under the leadership of AT&T and Verizon.
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National Cricket League USA’s Inaugural ’60 Strikes’ Tournament Coming to UT Dallas
by | Aug 12, 2024
There's a new bat in town, and it's swinging into play at UT Dallas in October. Dallas-based National Cricket League USA will feature six teams in its inaugural Sixty Strikes Tournament—adding to North Texas' ever-rising cricket fervor.
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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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Meet the Winners of UTD’s 2024 Big Idea Competition

by | May 8, 2024
From a student whose digital platform connects social media influencers with restaurant owners to a returning alum whose dual-pedal controller lets video gamers put their feet into play, big ideas abounded at this year's UTD Big Idea competition. Here's who won what.
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North Texas’ EnLiSense To Launch Corti Health Wearables for Stress and Sleep Hormone Monitoring
by | Apr 5, 2024
Allen-based EnLiSense—co-founded by a professor and department head of bioengineering at UT Dallas—said the wearable features its proprietary passive-sweat sensor technology, which "non-invasively" rests on your skin, day and night, continuously measuring biomarker levels.
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NTXIA Partners with UTA and UTD To Launch Urban Resilience Fellowship
by | Mar 21, 2024
Through the program, the North Texas Innovation Alliance will connect university students with community and industry partners to develop "innovative solutions to improve the everyday lives of the public." They'll do this across a wide range of sectors, from mobility to cybersecurity to sustainability and more.
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Capital One Next Gen Leaders
‘You’re Paving the Way for Yourself’: First-Generation College Students Confront—and Overcome—Unique Challenges
by | Jan 31, 2024
Capital One partners with Dallas-Fort Worth universities to help first-gen students break down barriers to access and opportunity.
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