UT Dallas

Dallas Startup Von Perry Looks to Raise $2M to Build More 3D-Printed Homes Across Texas

by | Aug 31, 2022
Von Perry's first 3D-printed geopolymer concrete home is slated for completion in October in the small town of Nevada, Texas. As the startup prepares to kick off its $2 million fundraising effort on the StartEngine crowdfunding platform, it's planning six other custom projects in Texas—and thinking big. “We are actually building real houses using 3D printers, and that is a jaw-dropping moment for [people]," says Von Perry's co-founder and CTO. "Because they don't even believe it is possible."
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The Last Word: Toyota’s Trey Spyropoulos on the SWARM Connected Mobility Hackathon
Over 400 Toyota software and hardware engineers from around the world gathered at the company's Plano campus last month for the SWARM Connected Mobility Hackathon—a 36-hour companywide “concept-to-creation” challenge. And seven UT Dallas students were along for the ride.
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DI People: Kimberly-Clark, Sabre, Charles Schwab, and More Make Moves
by | Jul 29, 2022
In this week’s roundup of hires, promotions, and accolades in North Texas, you’ll also find news from DHD Films, Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty, M2G Ventures, UT Dallas, the Dallas Museum of Art, MOOYAH, Successive Technologies, CG Infinity, and more.
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UT Dallas Is Merging Two Schools To Bring Arts, Humanities, and Tech Together
by | Jul 27, 2022
Aiming to forge "a new path for excellence, innovation, and growth in the arts," UT Dallas is merging two schools into one larger School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology. The combined school will give the university a strong, single academic presence for the arts while taking advantage of UTD’s future arts and performance complex, the $158 million Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum. The school's inaugural dean, Dr. Nils Roemer, says the move will "make a statement to the entire country about our commitment to arts, humanities, and technology."
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Qualia Oto Lands New Funding for Its Mission to Restore Hearing in Patients

by | Jul 20, 2022
UT Dallas-based Qualia Oto is developing the next generation of cochlear implants, and has announced closing a Series A preferred round of around $1.64 million. Unlike typical cochlear implants that use bundles of wires attached to a receiver to stimulate the auditory nerve, Qualia Oto’s implant uses thin-film electrode arrays embedded in a polymer, allowing for more contact with the inner ear. That translates to a higher quality and range of sounds that are able to be transmitted.
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The Last Word: UTD’s Dr. Ignacio Rios on a New Algorithm for Dating Apps
by | Jun 30, 2022
Online dating is a $12 billion industry, with hundreds of platforms helping people find romance. But as Dr. Rios says, many still have trouble finding Mr. or Ms. Right. In a study published April 7 in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Rios and his co-authors propose a new algorithm that could make true love bloom after all.
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From TikTok Recommendations to New Trends, The Mark Cuban Foundation Aims to Teach Students About AI
by | Jun 16, 2022
The charitable foundation of Dallas Mavericks owner and serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban—is teaming up with local tech firms to launch its free AI Bootcamps for high school students across North Texas and beyond.

“These young leaders can now participate in the conversation around how AI should be developed and used,” Cuban has said. “We’re giving them a seat at the table.”  

Applications are now open.
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12 Acres of Creativity: UT Dallas Breaks Ground on a $158M Cultural Arts District
by | May 12, 2022
The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum will feature three new buildings: a second location for the Crow Museum of Asian Art; a performance hall; and a second museum focused on traditional arts of the Americas. The project's designer, global architectural firm Morphosis, designed the Perot Museum in downtown Dallas.
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Center of Gravity: Capital Factory Kicks Off New Dallas Digs With Startup Crawl and Health Supernova Event

by | May 6, 2022
Earlier this week, the Austin-based accelerator and investor announced its plans to launch a Center for Health Innovation at Pegasus Park in Dallas.
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Capital Factory Opening Center for Health Innovation at Pegasus Park in Dallas
by | May 5, 2022
The Austin-based accelerator and investor plans to launch its Center for Health Innovation at Pegasus Park in Dallas by end of 2023. Its goal: connecting startups locally and across the state with each other, as well as other corporate and research players in the space.

“We're in the business of erasing boundaries in Texas—full stop,” President and Co-Founder Bryan Chambers told Dallas Innovates.
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UTD Team’s Wearable Sweat Sensor Can Detect Key Biomarkers of Infection
by | May 5, 2022
A team of UT Dallas bioengineers in collaboration with Allen-based EnLiSense designed the device, which uses an electrochemical biosensor to detect two key biomarkers of infection. The sensor could be a "significant step" toward early detection of infections like COVID-19 and the flu. "We have built a technology to unlock and explore the latest frontier in sweat diagnostics," said Dr. Shalini Prasad, who heads up the UTD team and is a co-founder of EnLiSense.
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UTD Team Develops Rapid Virus Test That’s ‘150 Times More Accurate’—and They’ve Launched a Company to Commercialize It
by | Apr 21, 2022
A team of UT Dallas bioengineers has developed a rapid test for viruses that delivers results as accurate as PCR lab tests within 30 minutes. The test works by attaching gold nanoparticles to antibodies against the virus being tested, then scanning them with two lasers.

Three months after winning the grand prize at the MassChallenge North Texas pitch competition, the team's leader, Dr. Zhenpeng Qin, is working to commercialize the technology through a new company, Avsana Labs.
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Global Semiconductor Maker Sets Up its First North American R&D Operation in Richardson

by | Mar 31, 2022
Nexperia, a Netherlands-based semiconductor manufacturer, is opening a new design center in Richardson—its first R&D operation in North America—with plans to rapidly grow its local workforce. The new DFW operations will add to the other five R&D facilities Nexperia operates in Europe, China, and Malaysia.
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UT Dallas Researchers Study How Crowdfunding Campaigns Succeed (and Fail) With Social Media
by | Mar 31, 2022
UT Dallas marketing professor emeritus Brian Ratchford and his team explored the effects of social media on crowdfunding across nearly 440 GoFundMe campaigns.  They found that social media is most helpful in the first 10 days of a campaign. “If a campaign doesn't do well at the outset, it is unlikely to succeed,” Ratchford said.
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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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Dallas Arts Month: AURORA Will Present ‘Video Art Nights’ Across Five Fridays in April Downtown
by | Mar 24, 2022
AURORA, the Dallas-based public arts organization, is partnering with Downtown Dallas, Inc. on the weekly events, which will be free to the public. Curated video art programs will be projected at parks and outdoor surfaces in West End Square, Pegasus Plaza, and the Dallas Arts District—with live music and an outdoor artisanal market also on tap.
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